Which to use
“dam” is a noun and “dez” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #34,654
- “dam” frequency rank
- #771
- “dez” frequency rank
- 35425
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | dam | dez |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | senhora | dotado de bons atributos |
Where the eye mixes dam and dez
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.
Look-alike desk: dam vs dez
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: dam is /dɑːm/ ouvir^(fonte ?) while dez is /ˈdɛʃ/. 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 (noun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 35425, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
dam is recorded at frequency rank #34,654, classified as anoun, pronounced /dɑːm/ ouvir^(fonte ?). dez is at rank #771, tagged as anadj, pronounced /ˈdɛʃ/.
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 35425, this pair ranks #31,634 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of dam vs dez
Shared letters: d. Private to "dam": am. Private to "dez": ez.
"dam" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "dez" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "dam" and "dez" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "dam" or "dez"?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "dam" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "dez" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #31,634 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "dam" and "dez" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "dam vs dat". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #31,634 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.