Which to use
“decência” and “demência” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #17,478
- “decência” frequency rank
- #18,023
- “demência” frequency rank
- 35501
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | decência | demência |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | qualidade daquele ou daquilo que é decente | degeneração progressiva das faculdades mentais |
Where the eye mixes decência and demência
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. decência and demência follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCVCCVV). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Visual trap between decência and demência
A purely visual mix-up. decência (/dɨ.ˈsẽ.sjɐ/) and demência (/dɨ.ˈmẽ.sjɐ/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by a single letter - c in “decência” becomes m in “demência”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 35501, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
decência is recorded at frequency rank #17,478, classified as anoun, pronounced /dɨ.ˈsẽ.sjɐ/. demência is at rank #18,023, tagged as anoun, pronounced /dɨ.ˈmẽ.sjɐ/.
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 35501, this pair ranks #31,549 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of decência vs demência
Shared letters: acdeinê. Private to "decência": -. Private to "demência": m.
"decência" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVV · "demência" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVV
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "decência" for "demência" ever safe?
Which is more common, "decência" or "demência"?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "decência" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "demência" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #31,549 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "decência" and "demência" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "decadência vs decência". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #31,549 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.