Which to use
“moço” is an adjective and “mogno” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #12,496
- “moço” frequency rank
- #43,542
- “mogno” frequency rank
- 56038
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | moço | mogno |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | verde, não maduro | árvore meliácea da América tropical, especialmente das Antilhas (Swietenia mahogani), de madeira dura, marrom-avermelhada, muito apreciada para marcenaria de luxo |
Where the eye mixes moço and mogno
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. moço runs 4 letters (CVCV) against mogno's 5 (CVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses moço with mogno
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: moço is /ˈmo.sʊ/ while mogno is /ˈmɔgnu/. 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 (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 56038, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
moço is recorded at frequency rank #12,496, classified as anadj, pronounced /ˈmo.sʊ/. mogno is at rank #43,542, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈmɔgnu/.
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 56038, this pair ranks #10,215 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of moço vs mogno
Shared letters: mo. Private to "moço": ç. Private to "mogno": gn.
"moço" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "mogno" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- mogno ← mgono · mmogno · moggno · mognno · mogon · mongo · omgno
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "moço" and "mogno" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary Portuguese text, does "moço" or "mogno" show up more?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "moço" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "mogno" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #10,215 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "moço" and "mogno" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "mogno vs moído". 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 #10,215 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.