multavsmúmiaConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#4,498
“multa” frequency rank
#23,420
“múmia” frequency rank
27918
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature multa múmia
Definition ato ou efeito de multar cadáver humano conservado através de técnicas de embalsamento

Where the eye mixes multa and múmia

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence. multa (CVCCV) and múmia (CVCVV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.

5 ch
multa
5 ch
múmia

Look-alike desk: multa vs múmia

A purely visual mix-up. multa (/ˈmuɫ.tɐ/) and múmia (/ˈmu.mjɐ/) 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 3 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 27918, 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/. múmia is at rank #23,420, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈmu.mjɐ/.

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 27918, this pair ranks #41,001 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of multa vs múmia

Shared letters: am. Private to "multa": ltu. Private to "múmia": iú.

"multa" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV  ·  "múmia" · 5 letters · shape CVCVV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • multa ← mluta · mmulta · mulat · mullta · multta · mutla · umlta

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "multa" for "múmia" ever safe?
No. They are said differently (/ˈmuɫ.tɐ/ versus /ˈmu.mjɐ/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "multa" vs "múmia" - which ranks higher?
"multa" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,498 in our Portuguese list, against #23,420 for "múmia". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

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 "múmia" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #41,001 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "multa" and "múmia" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "mímica vs múmia". 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 #41,001 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