das vs dat, What's the Difference?

Which to use

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

#35
“das” frequency rank: #49,908
“dat” frequency rank: 49943
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	das	dat
Definition	da preposição de com o artigo definido feminino plural as	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 das and dat apart are highlighted. They share 2 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

3 ch

das

3 ch

dat

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: das is /dɐs/ while dat is [dɑt]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - s in “das” becomes t in “dat”, and the parts of speech differ too (contraction vs pronoun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 49943, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

das is recorded at frequency rank #35, classified as acontraction, pronounced /dɐs/. 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 49943, this pair ranks #15,033 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of das vs dat

Shared letters: ad. Private to "das": s. Private to "dat": t.

"das" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "dat" · 3 letters · shape CVC

Frequency comparison

das#35

dat#49,908

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

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

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

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

"das" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #35 in our Portuguese list, against #49,908 for "dat". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering das vs dat

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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