multavsmultarConfusable pair

Quick tell: multa is a noun, multar is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

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

#4,498
“multa” frequency rank
#44,987
“multar” frequency rank
49485
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature multa multar
Definition ato ou efeito de multar multar

Where the eye mixes multa and multar

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.

5 ch
multa
6 ch
multar

Why the eye confuses multa with multar

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: multa is /ˈmuɫ.tɐ/ while multar is /muɫ.ˈtaɾ/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “multa” sits inside “multar”, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 49485, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

multa is recorded at frequency rank #4,498, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈmuɫ.tɐ/. multar is at rank #44,987, tagged as averb, pronounced /muɫ.ˈtaɾ/.

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 49485, this pair ranks #15,513 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of multa vs multar

Shared letters: almtu. Private to "multa": -. Private to "multar": r.

"multa" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV  ·  "multar" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • multamluta · mmulta · mulat · mullta · multta · mutla · umlta
  • multarmlutar · mmultar · mulatr · mulltar · multarr · multra · multtar · mutlar

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "multa" and "multar" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "multa" is a noun and "multar" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
In ordinary Portuguese text, does "multa" or "multar" show up more?
"multa" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,498 in our Portuguese list, against #44,987 for "multar". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

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 "multa" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "multar" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #15,513 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "multa" and "multar" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "muleta vs multar". 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 #15,513 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