datvsditWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

“dat” and “dit” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#49,908
“dat” frequency rank
#46,275
“dit” frequency rank
96183
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature dat dit
Definition aquele; pronome neutro que se refere a algo ou alguém distante de quem fala isso; pronome neutro que se refere a uma coisa ou pessoa próxima

Where the eye mixes dat and dit

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence. dat and dit 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
dit

Visual trap between dat and dit

A purely visual mix-up. dat ([dɑt]) and dit ([dɪt]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by a single letter - a in “dat” becomes i in “dit”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 96183, 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]. dit is at rank #46,275, tagged as apron, pronounced [dɪt].

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 96183, this pair ranks #44 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of dat vs dit

Shared letters: dt. Private to "dat": a. Private to "dit": i.

"dat" · 3 letters · shape CVC  ·  "dit" · 3 letters · shape CVC

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "dat" and "dit" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([dɑt] versus [dɪt]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "dat" vs "dit" - which ranks higher?
"dit" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #46,275 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

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "dat" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "dit" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #44 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "dat" and "dit" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "damo vs dat". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #44 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