darvsdelWhich spelling fits?

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

Which to use

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

#161
“dar” frequency rank
#1,706
“del” frequency rank
1867
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature dar del
Definition transferir a posse de algo, gratuitamente, para outrem do, da, contração da preposição de com o artigo definido singular el:

Letter map: dar vs del

Shared letters muted; letters that set dar and del apart highlighted. Shared run: 1.

3 ch
dar
3 ch
del

Role in the sentence - dar and del

Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: dar is averb and delacontraction. On the page they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 1867, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

dar is recorded at frequency rank #161, classified as averb, pronounced /ˈdaɾ/. del is at rank #1,706, tagged as acontraction.

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 1867, this pair ranks #73,662 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of dar vs del

Shared letters: d. Private to "dar": ar. Private to "del": el.

"dar" · 3 letters · shape CVC  ·  "del" · 3 letters · shape CVC

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "dar" for "del" ever safe?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "dar" is a verb and "del" a contraction, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Frequency check: "dar" vs "del" - which ranks higher?
"dar" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #161 in our Portuguese list, against #1,706 for "del". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

After this comparison

Done with this confusable. These links stay specific to "dar" and "del".

  • Full dictionary entry for "dar" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "del" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #73,662 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "dar" and "del" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "dat vs del". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #73,662 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list