Which to use
“daí” is a contraction and “dam” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #1,387
- “daí” frequency rank
- #34,654
- “dam” frequency rank
- 36041
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | daí | dam |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | contração da preposição de com o advérbio de lugar aí: | senhora |
Where the eye mixes daí and dam
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: daí vs dam
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: daí is /dɐ.ˈi/ while dam is /dɑːm/ ouvir^(fonte ?). Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - í in “daí” becomes m in “dam”, and the parts of speech differ too (contraction vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 36041, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
daí is recorded at frequency rank #1,387, classified as acontraction, pronounced /dɐ.ˈi/. dam is at rank #34,654, tagged as anoun, pronounced /dɑːm/ ouvir^(fonte ?).
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 36041, this pair ranks #30,860 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of daí vs dam
Shared letters: ad. Private to "daí": í. Private to "dam": m.
"daí" · 3 letters · shape CVV · "dam" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "daí" and "dam" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "daí" vs "dam" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "daí" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "dam" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #30,860 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "daí" and "dam" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "dam vs dat". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #30,860 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.