Which to use
“matas” and “mater” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #10,927
- “matas” frequency rank
- #31,868
- “mater” frequency rank
- 42795
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | matas | mater |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | plural de mata | maternidade, estabelecimento público ou privado destinado a receber mulheres que estão a ponto de dar a luz |
Where the eye mixes matas and mater
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. matas and mater follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Why the eye confuses matas with mater
A purely visual mix-up. matas (/ˈma.tɐʃ/) and mater (/ma.tɛʁ/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 42795, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
matas is recorded at frequency rank #10,927, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈma.tɐʃ/. mater is at rank #31,868, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ma.tɛʁ/.
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 42795, this pair ranks #22,928 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of matas vs mater
Shared letters: amt. Private to "matas": s. Private to "mater": er.
"matas" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC · "mater" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "matas" for "mater" ever safe?
Which is more common, "matas" or "mater"?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "matas" and "mater" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "matas" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "mater" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #22,928 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "matas" and "mater" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "mater 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 #22,928 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.