Which to use
“mas” is a conjunction and “matas” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #25
- “mas” frequency rank
- #10,927
- “matas” frequency rank
- 10952
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | mas | matas |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | conjunção adversativa, indica clara oposição entre ideias | plural de mata |
Where the eye mixes mas and matas
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: mas vs matas
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: mas is /ˈmɐʃ/ while matas is /ˈma.tɐʃ/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (conjunction vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 10952, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
mas is recorded at frequency rank #25, classified as aconj, pronounced /ˈmɐʃ/. matas is at rank #10,927, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈma.tɐʃ/.
Glosses for this pair are partially populated in our dataset, but the full side-by-side definitions above should still guide you to the right choice.
With a confusion score of 10952, this pair ranks #62,006 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of mas vs matas
Shared letters: ams. Private to "mas": -. Private to "matas": t.
"mas" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "matas" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- matas ← amtas · maats · matass · matsa · mattas · mmatas · mtaas
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "mas" and "matas" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "mas" or "matas"?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "mas" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "matas" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #62,006 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "mas" and "matas" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "maa vs matas". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #62,006 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.