Which to use
“mau” is an adjective and “moi” is a pronoun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #1,936
- “mau” frequency rank
- #20,946
- “moi” frequency rank
- 22882
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | mau | moi |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | que não é de boa qualidade, ruim | mim, eu, pronome pessoal tónico da primeira pessoa do singular: |
Where the eye mixes mau and moi
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.
Visual trap between mau and moi
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: mau is /ˈmaw/ while moi is /mwa/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs pronoun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 22882, 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/. moi is at rank #20,946, tagged as apron, pronounced /mwa/.
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 22882, this pair ranks #47,058 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of mau vs moi
Shared letters: m. Private to "mau": au. Private to "moi": io.
"mau" · 3 letters · shape CVV · "moi" · 3 letters · shape CVV
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "mau" and "moi" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "mau" or "moi"?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "mau" and "moi" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "mau" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "moi" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #47,058 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "mau" and "moi" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "maa vs moi". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #47,058 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.