Which to use
“decente” and “demente” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #7,621
- “decente” frequency rank
- #28,930
- “demente” frequency rank
- 36551
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | decente | demente |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | que age com decência | que apresenta demência |
Where the eye mixes decente and demente
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. decente and demente follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCVCCV). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Visual trap between decente and demente
A purely visual mix-up. decente (/dɨ.ˈsẽ.tɨ/) and demente (/dɨ.ˈmẽ.tɨ/) 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 “decente” becomes m in “demente”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 36551, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
decente is recorded at frequency rank #7,621, classified as anadj, pronounced /dɨ.ˈsẽ.tɨ/. demente is at rank #28,930, tagged as anadj, pronounced /dɨ.ˈmẽ.tɨ/.
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 36551, this pair ranks #30,235 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of decente vs demente
Shared letters: dent. Private to "decente": c. Private to "demente": m.
"decente" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCCV · "demente" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "decente" and "demente" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "decente" or "demente"?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "decente" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "demente" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #30,235 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "decente" and "demente" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "delete vs demente". 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 #30,235 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.