Which to use
“da” is a contraction and “dat” is a pronoun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #8
- “da” frequency rank
- #49,908
- “dat” frequency rank
- 49916
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | da | dat |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | contração da preposição de com o artigo definido a | aquele; pronome neutro que se refere a algo ou alguém distante de quem fala |
Where the eye mixes da and dat
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence. da runs 2 letters (CV) against dat's 3 (CVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses da with dat
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: da is /da/ while dat is [dɑt]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “da” sits inside “dat”, and the parts of speech differ too (contraction vs pronoun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 49916, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
da is recorded at frequency rank #8, classified as acontraction, pronounced /da/. dat is at rank #49,908, tagged as apron, pronounced [dɑt].
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 49916, this pair ranks #15,069 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of da vs dat
Shared letters: ad. Private to "da": -. Private to "dat": t.
"da" · 2 letters · shape CV · "dat" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "da" and "dat" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "da" vs "dat" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "da" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "dat" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #15,069 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "da" and "dat" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "damo vs dat". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #15,069 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.