Which to use
“dal” is a noun and “de” is a preposition - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #27,029
- “dal” frequency rank
- #1
- “de” frequency rank
- 27030
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | dal | de |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | olho | estabelece uma ligação entre duas palavras, (geralmente uma relação de subordinação), podendo expressar |
Where the eye mixes dal and de
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.
Why the eye confuses dal with de
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: dal is /ta˨˦/ while de is /ʤɪ/; /ˈde/ (em finais de frases interrogativas, exemplo: estamos falando de?). Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs preposition), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 27030, 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˨˦/. de is at rank #1, tagged as aprep, pronounced /ʤɪ/; /ˈde/ (em finais de frases interrogativas, exemplo: estamos falando de?).
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 27030, this pair ranks #42,006 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of dal vs de
Shared letters: d. Private to "dal": al. Private to "de": e.
"dal" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "de" · 2 letters · shape CV
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "dal" for "de" ever safe?
In ordinary Portuguese text, does "dal" or "de" show up more?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "dal" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "de" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #42,006 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "dal" and "de" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "dal vs dat". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #42,006 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.