metadevsmetalWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#1,016
“metade” frequency rank
#3,027
“metal” frequency rank
4043
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature metade metal
Definition uma das duas partes iguais de um todo toda substância simples, dotada de brilho próprio (brilho metálico), boa condutora de calor e de eletricidade, que forma óxidos básicos em contato com o oxigênio, e que na eletrólise se dirige ao pólo negativo

Letter map: metade vs metal

Shared letters muted; letters that set metade and metal apart highlighted. Shared run: 4. metade runs 6 letters (CVCVCV) against metal's 5 (CVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

6 ch
metade
5 ch
metal

Pair insight - metade / metal

metade and metal are indexed as a confusable Portuguese pair. We have no recorded pronunciation or part of speech for both members, so the spelling overlap is what we can show you: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 4043, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

metade is recorded at frequency rank #1,016, classified as anoun. metal is at rank #3,027, tagged as anoun, pronounced /mɨ.ˈtaɫ/.

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 4043, this pair ranks #70,984 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of metade vs metal

Shared letters: aemt. Private to "metade": d. Private to "metal": l.

"metade" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV  ·  "metal" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • metade ← emtade · meatde · metadde · metaed · metdae · mettade · mmetade · mteade
  • metal ← emtal · meatl · metall · metla · mettal · mmetal · mteal

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "metade" and "metal" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They differ by 1 letter(s) in length, but the dictionary glosses above give them different meanings, so swapping one for the other changes what the sentence says.
Which is more common, "metade" or "metal"?
"metade" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,016 in our Portuguese list, against #3,027 for "metal". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Pair "metade" vs "metal" is on the table, pick a follow-up below.

  • Full dictionary entry for "metade" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "metal" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #70,984 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "metade" and "metal" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "melado vs metade". 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 #70,984 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list