Which to use
“daí” is a contraction and “dem” is an article - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #1,387
- “daí” frequency rank
- #7,268
- “dem” frequency rank
- 8655
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | daí | dem |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | contração da preposição de com o advérbio de lugar aí: | o, ao, do, artigo definido masculino do caso dativo singular |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set daí and dem apart are highlighted. They share 1 letter in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: daí is /dɐ.ˈi/ while dem is /deːm/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (contraction vs article), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 8655, 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/. dem is at rank #7,268, tagged as anarticle, pronounced /deːm/.
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 8655, this pair ranks #65,045 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of daí vs dem
Shared letters: d. Private to "daí": aí. Private to "dem": em.
"daí" · 3 letters · shape CVV · "dem" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "daí" and "dem" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "daí" or "dem"?
Remembering daí vs dem
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need a contraction, it's “daí”; for an article, it's “dem”.
- 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