Which to use
“mau” is an adjective and “mo” is a pronoun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #1,936
- “mau” frequency rank
- #4,745
- “mo” frequency rank
- 6681
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | mau | mo |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | que não é de boa qualidade, ruim | combinação de me (pronome pessoal oblíquo átono) e o (pronome pessoal oblíquo átono, pronome demonstrativo masculino ou pronome demonstrativo neutro) |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set mau and mo apart are highlighted. They share 1 letter in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
mau and mo form a confusable pair in the Portuguese index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They differ by 1 letter(s) in length - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 6681, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
mau is recorded at frequency rank #1,936, classified as anadj, pronounced /ˈmaw/. mo is at rank #4,745, tagged as apron, pronounced /mo/.
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 6681, this pair ranks #67,700 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "mau" and "mo" be used interchangeably?
Remembering mau vs mo
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “mau”; for a pronoun, it's “mo”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “mau” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable