daívsdizWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#1,387
“daí” frequency rank
#156
“diz” frequency rank
1543
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature daí diz
Definition contração da preposição de com o advérbio de lugar aí: terceira pessoa do singular do presente do indicativo do verbo dizer

Where the spellings diverge

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

3 ch
daí
3 ch
diz

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: daí is /dɐ.ˈi/ while diz is /ˈʤis/. 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 verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 1543, 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/. diz is at rank #156, tagged as averb, pronounced /ˈʤis/.

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 1543, this pair ranks #74,006 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of daí vs diz

Shared letters: d. Private to "daí": . Private to "diz": iz.

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

Frequency comparison

daí#1,387
diz#156

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "daí" and "diz" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "daí" is a contraction and "diz" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "daí" or "diz"?
"diz" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #156 in our Portuguese list, against #1,387 for "daí". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering daí vs diz

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a contraction, it's “daí”; for a verb, it's “diz”.
  • 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