matar vs mataria, What's the Difference?

Which to use

“matar” and “mataria” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#1,053
“matar” frequency rank: #25,042
“mataria” frequency rank: 26095
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	matar	mataria
Definition	causar morte, tirar a vida	primeira e terceira pessoa do singular do futuro do pretérito do verbo matar

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set matar and mataria apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch

matar

7 ch

mataria

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. matar (/mɐ.ˈtaɾ/) and mataria (/ma.ta.ˈɾi.ɐ/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “matar” sits inside “mataria”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 26095, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

matar is recorded at frequency rank #1,053, classified as averb, pronounced /mɐ.ˈtaɾ/. mataria is at rank #25,042, tagged as averb, pronounced /ma.ta.ˈɾi.ɐ/.

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 26095, this pair ranks #43,118 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of matar vs mataria

Shared letters: amrt. Private to "matar": -. Private to "mataria": i.

"matar" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC · "mataria" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVV

Known mistypes of this pair

matar ← amtar · maatr · matarr · matra · mattar · mmatar · mtaar
mataria ← amtaria · maatria · mataira · matarai · matarria · matraia · mattaria · mmataria

Frequency comparison

matar#1,053

mataria#25,042

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "matar" and "mataria" be used interchangeably?

No. They are said differently (/mɐ.ˈtaɾ/ versus /ma.ta.ˈɾi.ɐ/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.

Which is more common, "matar" or "mataria"?

"matar" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,053 in our Portuguese list, against #25,042 for "mataria". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering matar vs mataria

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “matar” entry
Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable