degradar vs derramar, What's the Difference?

Which to use

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

#45,792
“degradar” frequency rank: #20,270
“derramar” frequency rank: 66062
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	degradar	derramar
Definition	retirar títulos (carreiras, ofícios, trabalhos, graus etc.) de maneira humilhante; destituir	deixar correr para fora; verter; espalhar; entornar; despejar; virar

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set degradar and derramar apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

8 ch

degradar

8 ch

derramar

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. degradar (/dɨ.ɡɾɐ.ˈdaɾ/) and derramar (/dɨ.Rɐ.ˈmaɾ/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 66062, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

degradar is recorded at frequency rank #45,792, classified as averb, pronounced /dɨ.ɡɾɐ.ˈdaɾ/. derramar is at rank #20,270, tagged as averb, pronounced /dɨ.Rɐ.ˈmaɾ/.

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 66062, this pair ranks #5,125 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of degradar vs derramar

Shared letters: ader. Private to "degradar": g. Private to "derramar": m.

"degradar" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVC · "derramar" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

degradar ← ddegradar · degardar · deggradar · degraadr · degradarr · degraddar · degradra · degrdaar
derramar ← dderramar · deramar · derarmar · derraamr · derramarr · derrammar · derramra · derrmaar

Frequency comparison

degradar#45,792

derramar#20,270

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "degradar" and "derramar" be used interchangeably?

No. They are said differently (/dɨ.ɡɾɐ.ˈdaɾ/ versus /dɨ.Rɐ.ˈmaɾ/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.

Which is more common, "degradar" or "derramar"?

"derramar" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #20,270 in our Portuguese list, against #45,792 for "degradar". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering degradar vs derramar

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “degradar” entry
Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable