datvsdigTell them apart

Quick tell: dat is a pronoun, dig is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

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

#49,908
“dat” frequency rank
#34,238
“dig” frequency rank
84146
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature dat dig
Definition aquele; pronome neutro que se refere a algo ou alguém distante de quem fala cavar, escavar

Letter map: dat vs dig

Shared letters muted; letters that set dat and dig apart highlighted. Shared run: 1. dat and dig follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

3 ch
dat
3 ch
dig

Part-of-speech tell for dat / dig

Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: dat is apronoun and digaverb. On the page they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 84146, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

dat is recorded at frequency rank #49,908, classified as apron, pronounced [dɑt]. dig is at rank #34,238, tagged as averb.

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 84146, this pair ranks #831 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of dat vs dig

Shared letters: d. Private to "dat": at. Private to "dig": gi.

"dat" · 3 letters · shape CVC  ·  "dig" · 3 letters · shape CVC

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "dat" for "dig" ever safe?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "dat" is a pronoun and "dig" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Frequency check: "dat" vs "dig" - which ranks higher?
"dig" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #34,238 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.

What to do next

You've compared "dat" and "dig". Here's where to go from here.

  • Full dictionary entry for "dat" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "dig" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #831 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "dat" and "dig" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "damo vs dat". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #831 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