Which to use
“dato” is an adverb and “desto” is a conjunction - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #10,631
- “dato” frequency rank
- #2,102
- “desto” frequency rank
- 12733
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | dato | desto |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | am heutigen Tag | oft in der Verbindung je … desto: leitet einen Satz ein, der eine proportionale Verstärkung als Folge des Inhalts des vorhergehenden Teilsatzes zum Ausdruck bringt; |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set dato and desto apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
dato and desto form a confusable pair in the German index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They differ by 1 letter(s) in length - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 12733, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
dato is recorded at frequency rank #10,631, classified as anadv, pronounced [ˈdaːto]. desto is at rank #2,102, tagged as aconj, pronounced [ˈdɛsto].
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 12733, this pair ranks #1,962,384 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "dato" and "desto" be used interchangeably?
Remembering dato vs desto
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need an adverb, it's “dato”; for a conjunction, it's “desto”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “dato” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable