matvsminTell them apart

Quick tell: mat is a noun, min is a symbol, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“mat” is a noun and “min” is a symbol - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#21,805
“mat” frequency rank
#4,495
“min” frequency rank
26300
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature mat min
Definition casamento símbolo de minuto

Letter map: mat vs min

Shared letters muted; letters that set mat and min apart highlighted. Shared run: 1.

3 ch
mat
3 ch
min

Grammar separator: mat vs min

Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: mat is anoun and minasymbol. On the page they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 26300, 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/. min is at rank #4,495, tagged as asymbol.

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 26300, this pair ranks #42,883 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of mat vs min

Shared letters: m. Private to "mat": at. Private to "min": in.

"mat" · 3 letters · shape CVC  ·  "min" · 3 letters · shape CVC

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "mat" and "min" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "mat" is a noun and "min" a symbol, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
In ordinary Portuguese text, does "mat" or "min" show up more?
"min" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,495 in our Portuguese list, against #21,805 for "mat". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Pair "mat" vs "min" is on the table, pick a follow-up below.

  • Full dictionary entry for "mat" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "min" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #42,883 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "mat" and "min" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "maa vs mat". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #42,883 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list