matriz vs motriz, What's the Difference?

Which to use

“matriz” is an adjective and “motriz” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#5,321
“matriz” frequency rank: #30,644
“motriz” frequency rank: 35965
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	matriz	motriz
Definition	principal ou primordial	coisa ou força que dá movimento

Where the spellings diverge

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

6 ch

matriz

6 ch

motriz

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: matriz is /mɐ.ˈtɾiʃ/ while motriz is /mu.ˈtɾiʃ/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - a in “matriz” becomes o in “motriz”, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 35965, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

matriz is recorded at frequency rank #5,321, classified as anadj, pronounced /mɐ.ˈtɾiʃ/. motriz is at rank #30,644, tagged as anoun, pronounced /mu.ˈtɾiʃ/.

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 35965, this pair ranks #30,959 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of matriz vs motriz

Shared letters: imrtz. Private to "matriz": a. Private to "motriz": o.

"matriz" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "motriz" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

matriz ← amtriz · martiz · matirz · matrizz · matrriz · matrzi · mattriz · mmatriz
motriz ← mmotriz · mortiz · motirz · motrizz · motrriz · motrzi · mottriz · mtoriz

Frequency comparison

matriz#5,321

motriz#30,644

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "matriz" and "motriz" be used interchangeably?

No - they are not even the same part of speech. "matriz" is an adjective and "motriz" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.

Which is more common, "matriz" or "motriz"?

"matriz" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,321 in our Portuguese list, against #30,644 for "motriz". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering matriz vs motriz

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “matriz”; for a noun, it's “motriz”.
See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “matriz” entry
Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable