Which to use
“mat” is a noun and “matem” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #21,805
- “mat” frequency rank
- #18,638
- “matem” frequency rank
- 40443
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | mat | matem |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | casamento | terceira pessoa do plural do presente do modo subjuntivo do verbo matar |
Where the eye mixes mat and matem
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between mat and matem
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: mat is /mat/ while matem is /ˈma.tẽɲ/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “mat” sits inside “matem”, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 40443, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
mat is recorded at frequency rank #21,805, classified as anoun, pronounced /mat/. matem is at rank #18,638, tagged as averb, pronounced /ˈma.tẽɲ/.
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 40443, this pair ranks #25,676 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of mat vs matem
Shared letters: amt. Private to "mat": -. Private to "matem": e.
"mat" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "matem" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- matem ← amtem · maetm · matemm · matme · mattem · mmatem · mtaem
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "mat" and "matem" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "mat" or "matem"?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "mat" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "matem" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #25,676 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "mat" and "matem" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "maa vs mat". 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 #25,676 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.