dearvsdurarWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: dear is a adjective, durar is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“dear” is an adjective and “durar” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#20,263
“dear” frequency rank
#5,293
“durar” frequency rank
25556
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature dear durar
Definition querido; amado não se gastar;

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set dear and durar apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch
dear
5 ch
durar

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

dear and durar 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 25556, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

dear is recorded at frequency rank #20,263, classified as anadj, pronounced /dɪɹ/. durar is at rank #5,293, tagged as averb, pronounced /du.ˈɾaɾ/.

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 25556, this pair ranks #43,747 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Frequency comparison

dear#20,263
durar#5,293

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "dear" and "durar" be used interchangeably?
No, "dear" and "durar" 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 dear vs durar

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “dear”; for a verb, it's “durar”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “dear” 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