Which to use
“mat” is a noun and “mau” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #21,805
- “mat” frequency rank
- #1,936
- “mau” frequency rank
- 23741
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | mat | mau |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | casamento | que não é de boa qualidade, ruim |
Where the eye mixes mat and mau
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses mat with mau
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: mat is /mat/ while mau is /ˈmaw/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - t in “mat” becomes u in “mau”, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 23741, 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/. mau is at rank #1,936, tagged as anadj, pronounced /ˈmaw/.
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 23741, this pair ranks #46,031 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of mat vs mau
Shared letters: am. Private to "mat": t. Private to "mau": u.
"mat" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "mau" · 3 letters · shape CVV
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "mat" and "mau" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary Portuguese text, does "mat" or "mau" show up more?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "mat" and "mau" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "mat" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "mau" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #46,031 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "mat" and "mau" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "maa vs mat". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #46,031 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.