devsdiezWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: de is a preposition, diez is a num, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“de” is a preposition and “diez” is a num - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#1
“de” frequency rank
#44,810
“diez” frequency rank
44811
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature de diez
Definition estabelece uma ligação entre duas palavras, (geralmente uma relação de subordinação), podendo expressar o número dez

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set de and diez apart are highlighted. They share 2 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

2 ch
de
4 ch
diez

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: de is /ʤɪ/; /ˈde/ (em finais de frases interrogativas, exemplo: estamos falando de?) while diez is /dĭeθ/ ouvir^(fonte ?). Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (preposition vs num), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 44811, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

de is recorded at frequency rank #1, classified as aprep, pronounced /ʤɪ/; /ˈde/ (em finais de frases interrogativas, exemplo: estamos falando de?). diez is at rank #44,810, tagged as anum, pronounced /dĭeθ/ 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 44811, this pair ranks #20,614 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of de vs diez

Shared letters: de. Private to "de": -. Private to "diez": iz.

"de" · 2 letters · shape CV  ·  "diez" · 4 letters · shape CVVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • diezddiez · deiz · diezz · idez

Frequency comparison

de#1
diez#44,810

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "de" and "diez" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "de" is a preposition and "diez" a num, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "de" or "diez"?
"de" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1 in our Portuguese list, against #44,810 for "diez". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering de vs diez

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list