daívsdayWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: daí is a contraction, day is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“daí” is a contraction and “day” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#1,387
“daí” frequency rank
#2,512
“day” frequency rank
3899
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature daí day
Definition contração da preposição de com o advérbio de lugar aí: dia (período de 24 horas)

Where the spellings diverge

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

3 ch
daí
3 ch
day

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: daí is /dɐ.ˈi/ while day is /deɪ/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - í in “daí” becomes y in “day”, and the parts of speech differ too (contraction vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 3899, 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/. day is at rank #2,512, tagged as anoun, pronounced /deɪ/.

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 3899, this pair ranks #71,176 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of daí vs day

Shared letters: ad. Private to "daí": í. Private to "day": y.

"daí" · 3 letters · shape CVV  ·  "day" · 3 letters · shape CVV

Frequency comparison

daí#1,387
day#2,512

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "daí" and "day" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "daí" is a contraction and "day" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "daí" or "day"?
"daí" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,387 in our Portuguese list, against #2,512 for "day". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering daí vs day

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a contraction, it's “daí”; for a noun, it's “day”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “daí” 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