Which to use
“mata” is a noun and “matei” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #1,436
- “mata” frequency rank
- #9,532
- “matei” frequency rank
- 10968
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | mata | matei |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | porção de terreno repleto de árvores silvestres | primeira pessoa do singular do pretérito perfeito do modo indicativo do verbo matar |
Where the eye mixes mata and matei
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between mata and matei
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: mata is /ˈma.tɐ/ while matei is /ma.ˈteɪ/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 10968, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
mata is recorded at frequency rank #1,436, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈma.tɐ/. matei is at rank #9,532, tagged as averb, pronounced /ma.ˈteɪ/.
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 10968, this pair ranks #61,992 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of mata vs matei
Shared letters: amt. Private to "mata": -. Private to "matei": ei.
"mata" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "matei" · 5 letters · shape CVCVV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "mata" and "matei" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "mata" or "matei"?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "mata" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "matei" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #61,992 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "mata" and "matei" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "matei vs matiz". 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 #61,992 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.