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 eye mixes matas and metas
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. matas and metas 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 metas
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
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "matas" and "metas" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary Portuguese text, does "matas" or "metas" show up more?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "matas" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "metas" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #53,460 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "matas" and "metas" 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 #53,460 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.