mastrovsmostraWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“mastro” and “mostra” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#19,493
“mastro” frequency rank
#772
“mostra” frequency rank
20265
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature mastro mostra
Definition haste sobre a qual se iça uma bandeira exemplo, espécime

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set mastro and mostra apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
mastro
6 ch
mostra

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. mastro (/ˈmaʃ.tɾu/) and mostra (/ˈmɔʃ.tɾɐ/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they are an anagram pair: the same letters reordered. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 20265, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

mastro is recorded at frequency rank #19,493, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈmaʃ.tɾu/. mostra is at rank #772, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈmɔʃ.tɾɐ/.

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 20265, this pair ranks #50,284 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of mastro vs mostra

Shared letters: amorst. Private to "mastro": -. Private to "mostra": -.

"mastro" · 6 letters · shape CVCCCV  ·  "mostra" · 6 letters · shape CVCCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • mastroamstro · masrto · masstro · mastor · mastrro · masttro · matsro · mmastro
  • mostrammostra · mosrta · mosstra · mostar · mosttra · motsra · msotra · omstra

Frequency comparison

mastro#19,493
mostra#772

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "mastro" and "mostra" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (/ˈmaʃ.tɾu/ versus /ˈmɔʃ.tɾɐ/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "mastro" or "mostra"?
"mostra" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #772 in our Portuguese list, against #19,493 for "mastro". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering mastro vs mostra

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “mastro” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list