Which to use
“de” is a preposition and “dun” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #1
- “de” frequency rank
- #45,320
- “dun” frequency rank
- 45321
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | de | dun |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | estabelece uma ligação entre duas palavras, (geralmente uma relação de subordinação), podendo expressar | penugem imatura em pássaros jovens |
Where the eye mixes de and dun
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.
Why the eye confuses de with dun
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 dun is /duːn/, [d̥uːˀn]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (preposition vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 45321, 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?). dun is at rank #45,320, tagged as anoun, pronounced /duːn/, [d̥uːˀn].
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 45321, this pair ranks #20,084 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of de vs dun
Shared letters: d. Private to "de": e. Private to "dun": nu.
"de" · 2 letters · shape CV · "dun" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "de" for "dun" ever safe?
In ordinary Portuguese text, does "de" or "dun" show up more?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "de" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "dun" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #20,084 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "de" and "dun" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "dat vs dun". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #20,084 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.