devsdizWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#1
“de” frequency rank
#156
“diz” frequency rank
157
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature de diz
Definition estabelece uma ligação entre duas palavras, (geralmente uma relação de subordinação), podendo expressar terceira pessoa do singular do presente do indicativo do verbo dizer

Where the spellings diverge

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

2 ch
de
3 ch
diz

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

de and diz form a confusable pair in the Portuguese index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They differ by 1 letter(s) in length - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 157, 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?). diz is at rank #156, tagged as averb, pronounced /ˈʤis/.

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 157, this pair ranks #75,495 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Frequency comparison

de#1
diz#156

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "de" and "diz" be used interchangeably?
No, "de" and "diz" have distinct meanings and cannot be swapped without changing the meaning of a sentence. Understanding the specific definition and context for each word is essential for correct usage.

Remembering de vs diz

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a preposition, it's “de”; for a verb, it's “diz”.
  • 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