Which to use
“day” is a noun and “den” is an article - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #2,512
- “day” frequency rank
- #19,112
- “den” frequency rank
- 21624
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | day | den |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | dia (período de 24 horas) | o, artigo definido masculino do caso acusativo singular: |
Where the eye mixes day and den
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.
Why the eye confuses day with den
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: day is /deɪ/ while den is /deːn/ ouvir^(fonte ?). 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 (noun vs article), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 21624, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
day is recorded at frequency rank #2,512, classified as anoun, pronounced /deɪ/. den is at rank #19,112, tagged as anarticle, pronounced /deːn/ ouvir^(fonte ?).
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 21624, this pair ranks #48,587 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of day vs den
Shared letters: d. Private to "day": ay. Private to "den": en.
"day" · 3 letters · shape CVV · "den" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "day" and "den" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "day" or "den"?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "day" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "den" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #48,587 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "day" and "den" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "dat vs den". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #48,587 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.