dat vs dim, What's the Difference?

Which to use

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

#49,908
“dat” frequency rank: #29,687
“dim” frequency rank: 79595
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	dat	dim
Definition	aquele; pronome neutro que se refere a algo ou alguém distante de quem fala	opaco, escuro, sem brilho ou claridade:

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set dat and dim apart are highlighted. They share 1 letter in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

3 ch

dat

3 ch

dim

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: dat is [dɑt] while dim is /ˈdɪm/. 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 (pronoun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 79595, 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]. dim is at rank #29,687, tagged as anadj, pronounced /ˈdɪm/.

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 79595, this pair ranks #1,475 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of dat vs dim

Shared letters: d. Private to "dat": at. Private to "dim": im.

"dat" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "dim" · 3 letters · shape CVC

Frequency comparison

dat#49,908

dim#29,687

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

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

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

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

"dim" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #29,687 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.

Remembering dat vs dim

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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