matasvsmetaWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#10,927
“matas” frequency rank
#2,523
“meta” frequency rank
13450
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature matas meta
Definition plural de mata alvo, objetivo

Where the eye mixes matas and meta

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.

5 ch
matas
4 ch
meta

Visual trap between matas and meta

A purely visual mix-up. matas (/ˈma.tɐʃ/) and meta (/ˈmɛ.tɐ/) 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 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 13450, 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/. meta is at rank #2,523, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈmɛ.tɐ/.

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 13450, this pair ranks #58,884 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of matas vs meta

Shared letters: amt. Private to "matas": s. Private to "meta": e.

"matas" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC  ·  "meta" · 4 letters · shape CVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • matasamtas · maats · matass · matsa · mattas · mmatas · mtaas
  • metaemta · meat · metta · mmeta · mtea

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "matas" and "meta" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently (/ˈma.tɐʃ/ versus /ˈmɛ.tɐ/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "matas" or "meta"?
"meta" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,523 in our Portuguese list, against #10,927 for "matas". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Eye-level mix-up between "matas" and "meta" 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 "meta" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #58,884 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "matas" and "meta" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "maa vs matas". 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 #58,884 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