multavsmutoTell them apart

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

Which to use

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

#4,498
“multa” frequency rank
#43,549
“muto” frequency rank
48047
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature multa muto
Definition ato ou efeito de multar mudar algo de sítio, remover.

Where the eye mixes multa and muto

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.

5 ch
multa
4 ch
muto

Why the eye confuses multa with muto

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: multa is /ˈmuɫ.tɐ/ while muto is /ˈmuː.toː/. 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 48047, 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/. muto is at rank #43,549, tagged as averb, pronounced /ˈmuː.toː/.

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 48047, this pair ranks #17,172 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of multa vs muto

Shared letters: mtu. Private to "multa": al. Private to "muto": o.

"multa" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV  ·  "muto" · 4 letters · shape CVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • multamluta · mmulta · mulat · mullta · multta · mutla · umlta
  • mutommuto · mtuo · muot · mutto · umto

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "multa" and "muto" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "multa" is a noun and "muto" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "multa" or "muto"?
"multa" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,498 in our Portuguese list, against #43,549 for "muto". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Eye-level mix-up between "multa" and "muto" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "multa" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "muto" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #17,172 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "multa" and "muto" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "muso vs muto". 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 #17,172 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