darevsdatoWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: dare is a verb, dato is an adverb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“dare” is a verb and “dato” is an adverb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#44,517
“dare” frequency rank
#10,631
“dato” frequency rank
55148
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature dare dato
Definition es wagen, zu (+Infinitiv); den Mut haben, zu (+Infinitiv) am heutigen Tag

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set dare and dato apart are highlighted. They share 2 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch
dare
4 ch
dato

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: dare is [deə(ɹ)] while dato is [ˈdaːto]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adverb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 55148, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

dare is recorded at frequency rank #44,517, classified as averb, pronounced [deə(ɹ)]. dato is at rank #10,631, tagged as anadv, pronounced [ˈdaːto].

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 55148, this pair ranks #990,923 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of dare vs dato

Shared letters: ad. Private to "dare": er. Private to "dato": ot.

"dare" · 4 letters · shape CVCV  ·  "dato" · 4 letters · shape CVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • daredarre · ddare · drae
  • datoadto · daot · datto · ddato · dtao

Frequency comparison

dare#44,517
dato#10,631

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "dare" and "dato" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "dare" is a verb and "dato" an adverb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "dare" or "dato"?
"dato" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #10,631 in our German list, against #44,517 for "dare". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering dare vs dato

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “dare”; for an adverb, it's “dato”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “dare” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list