dal vs dat, What's the Difference?

Which to use

“dal” is a noun and “dat” is a pronoun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#27,029
“dal” frequency rank: #49,908
“dat” frequency rank: 76937
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	dal	dat
Definition	olho	aquele; pronome neutro que se refere a algo ou alguém distante de quem fala

Where the spellings diverge

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

3 ch

dal

3 ch

dat

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: dal is /ta˨˦/ while dat is [dɑt]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - l in “dal” becomes t in “dat”, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs pronoun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 76937, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

dal is recorded at frequency rank #27,029, classified as anoun, pronounced /ta˨˦/. dat is at rank #49,908, tagged as apron, pronounced [dɑt].

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 76937, this pair ranks #1,993 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of dal vs dat

Shared letters: ad. Private to "dal": l. Private to "dat": t.

"dal" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "dat" · 3 letters · shape CVC

Frequency comparison

dal#27,029

dat#49,908

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "dal" and "dat" be used interchangeably?

No - they are not even the same part of speech. "dal" is a noun and "dat" a pronoun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.

Which is more common, "dal" or "dat"?

"dal" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #27,029 in our Portuguese list, against #49,908 for "dat". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering dal vs dat

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “dal”; for a pronoun, it's “dat”.
See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “dal” entry
Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable