def vs dez, What's the Difference?

Which to use

“def” and “dez” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#32,132
“def” frequency rank: #771
“dez” frequency rank: 32903
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	def	dez
Definition	algo muito bom	dotado de bons atributos

Where the eye mixes def and dez

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.

3 ch

def

3 ch

dez

Visual trap between def and dez

A purely visual mix-up. def (/dɛf/) and dez (/ˈdɛʃ/) 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 - f in “def” becomes z in “dez”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 32903, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

def is recorded at frequency rank #32,132, classified as anadj, pronounced /dɛf/. dez is at rank #771, tagged as anadj, pronounced /ˈdɛʃ/.

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 32903, this pair ranks #34,753 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of def vs dez

Shared letters: de. Private to "def": f. Private to "dez": z.

"def" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "dez" · 3 letters · shape CVC

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "def" and "dez" mean the same thing in a sentence?

No. They are said differently (/dɛf/ versus /ˈdɛʃ/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.

Frequency check: "def" vs "dez" - which ranks higher?

"dez" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #771 in our Portuguese list, against #32,132 for "def". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

After this comparison

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

Full dictionary entry for "def" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
Full dictionary entry for "dez" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
This pair ranks #34,753 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
"def" and "dez" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "dat vs def". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #34,753 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.