Which to use
“dead” is an adjective and “dem” is an article - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #6,859
- “dead” frequency rank
- #7,268
- “dem” frequency rank
- 14127
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | dead | dem |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | morto | o, ao, do, artigo definido masculino do caso dativo singular |
Letter map: dead vs dem
Shared letters muted; letters that set dead and dem apart highlighted. Shared run: 2.
Grammar separator: dead vs dem
Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: dead is anadjective and demanarticle. On the page they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 14127, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
dead is recorded at frequency rank #6,859, classified as anadj. dem is at rank #7,268, tagged as anarticle, pronounced /deːm/.
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 14127, this pair ranks #58,038 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of dead vs dem
Shared letters: de. Private to "dead": a. Private to "dem": m.
"dead" · 4 letters · shape CVVC · "dem" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- dead ← daed · ddead · deadd · deda · edad
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "dead" and "dem" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "dead" or "dem"?
Useful next steps
Done with this confusable. These links stay specific to "dead" and "dem".
- Full dictionary entry for "dead" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "dem" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #58,038 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "dead" and "dem" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "dat vs dem". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #58,038 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.