matas vs metas, What's the Difference?

Which to use

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

#10,927
“matas” frequency rank: #6,791
“metas” frequency rank: 17718
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	matas	metas
Definition	plural de mata	plural de meta

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set matas and metas apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch

matas

5 ch

metas

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. matas (/ˈma.tɐʃ/) and metas (/ˈmɛ.tɐs/) 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 a single letter - a in “matas” becomes e in “metas”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 17718, 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/. metas is at rank #6,791, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈmɛ.tɐs/.

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 17718, this pair ranks #53,460 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of matas vs metas

Shared letters: amst. Private to "matas": -. Private to "metas": e.

"matas" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC · "metas" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

matas ← amtas · maats · matass · matsa · mattas · mmatas · mtaas
metas ← emtas · meats · metass · metsa · mettas · mmetas · mteas

Frequency comparison

matas#10,927

metas#6,791

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "matas" and "metas" be used interchangeably?

No. They are said differently (/ˈma.tɐʃ/ versus /ˈmɛ.tɐs/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.

Which is more common, "matas" or "metas"?

"metas" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #6,791 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.

Remembering matas vs metas

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 “matas” entry
Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable