Which to use
“matagal” is a noun and “matava” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #32,254
- “matagal” frequency rank
- #20,939
- “matava” frequency rank
- 53193
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | matagal | matava |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | mato denso | primeira e terceira pessoa do singular do pretérito imperfeito do modo indicativo do verbo matar |
Where the eye mixes matagal and matava
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. matagal runs 7 letters (CVCVCVC) against matava's 6 (CVCVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses matagal with matava
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: matagal is /mɐ.tɐ.ˈɡaɫ/ while matava is /ma.ˈta.vɐ/. 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 53193, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
matagal is recorded at frequency rank #32,254, classified as anoun, pronounced /mɐ.tɐ.ˈɡaɫ/. matava is at rank #20,939, tagged as averb, pronounced /ma.ˈta.vɐ/.
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 53193, this pair ranks #12,208 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of matagal vs matava
Shared letters: amt. Private to "matagal": gl. Private to "matava": v.
"matagal" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC · "matava" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "matagal" and "matava" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary Portuguese text, does "matagal" or "matava" show up more?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "matagal" and "matava" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "matagal" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "matava" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #12,208 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "matagal" and "matava" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "marajá vs matava". 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 #12,208 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.