metas vs mortas, What's the Difference?

Which to use

“metas” is a noun and “mortas” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#6,791
“metas” frequency rank: #5,659
“mortas” frequency rank: 12450
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	metas	mortas
Definition	plural de meta	presente do verbo morti

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set metas and mortas apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch

metas

6 ch

mortas

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: metas is /ˈmɛ.tɐs/ while mortas is /ˈmoɾ.tas/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 12450, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

metas is recorded at frequency rank #6,791, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈmɛ.tɐs/. mortas is at rank #5,659, tagged as averb, pronounced /ˈmoɾ.tas/.

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 12450, this pair ranks #60,129 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of metas vs mortas

Shared letters: amst. Private to "metas": e. Private to "mortas": or.

"metas" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC · "mortas" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

metas ← emtas · meats · metass · metsa · mettas · mmetas · mteas
mortas ← mmortas · morats · morrtas · mortass · mortsa · morttas · motras · mrotas

Frequency comparison

metas#6,791

mortas#5,659

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "metas" and "mortas" be used interchangeably?

No - they are not even the same part of speech. "metas" is a noun and "mortas" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.

Which is more common, "metas" or "mortas"?

"mortas" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,659 in our Portuguese list, against #6,791 for "metas". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering metas vs mortas

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “metas”; for a verb, it's “mortas”.
See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “metas” entry
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