modavsmulaConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#2,154
“moda” frequency rank
#19,501
“mula” frequency rank
21655
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature moda mula
Definition uso passageiro que regula, de acordo com o gosto do momento, a forma de viver, de vestir, etc animal fêmea resultante do cruzamento dum jumento com uma égua

Where the eye mixes moda and mula

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.

4 ch
moda
4 ch
mula

Visual trap between moda and mula

A purely visual mix-up. moda (/ˈmɔ.dɐ/) and mula (/ˈmu.lɐ/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 21655, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

moda is recorded at frequency rank #2,154, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈmɔ.dɐ/. mula is at rank #19,501, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈmu.lɐ/.

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 21655, this pair ranks #48,544 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of moda vs mula

Shared letters: am. Private to "moda": do. Private to "mula": lu.

"moda" · 4 letters · shape CVCV  ·  "mula" · 4 letters · shape CVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • modamdoa · mmoda · moad · modda · omda
  • mulamlua · mmula · mual · mulla · umla

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "moda" for "mula" ever safe?
No. They are said differently (/ˈmɔ.dɐ/ versus /ˈmu.lɐ/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary Portuguese text, does "moda" or "mula" show up more?
"moda" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,154 in our Portuguese list, against #19,501 for "mula". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "moda" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "mula" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #48,544 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "moda" and "mula" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "maa vs mula". 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 #48,544 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