daí vs del, What's the Difference?

Which to use

“daí” and “del” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#1,387
“daí” frequency rank: #1,706
“del” frequency rank: 3093
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	daí	del
Definition	contração da preposição de com o advérbio de lugar aí:	do, da, contração da preposição de com o artigo definido singular el:

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set daí and del apart are highlighted. They share 1 letter in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

3 ch

daí

3 ch

del

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

daí and del are indexed as a confusable Portuguese pair. We have no recorded pronunciation or part of speech for both members, so the spelling overlap is what we can show you: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 3093, 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/. del is at rank #1,706, tagged as acontraction.

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 3093, this pair ranks #72,123 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of daí vs del

Shared letters: d. Private to "daí": aí. Private to "del": el.

"daí" · 3 letters · shape CVV · "del" · 3 letters · shape CVC

Frequency comparison

daí#1,387

del#1,706

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "daí" and "del" be used interchangeably?

No. They share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, but the dictionary glosses above give them different meanings, so swapping one for the other changes what the sentence says.

Which is more common, "daí" or "del"?

"daí" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,387 in our Portuguese list, against #1,706 for "del". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering daí vs del

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
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