degrauvsdetrásWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: degrau is a noun, detrás is an adverb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“degrau” is a noun and “detrás” is an adverb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#16,989
“degrau” frequency rank
#10,172
“detrás” frequency rank
27161
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature degrau detrás
Definition cada uma das partes da escada em que se põe o pé para subir ou para descer na parte posterior

Where the spellings diverge

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

6 ch
degrau
6 ch
detrás

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: degrau is /dɨ.ˈɡɾaw/ while detrás is /dɨ.ˈtɾaʃ/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 3 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs adverb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 27161, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

degrau is recorded at frequency rank #16,989, classified as anoun, pronounced /dɨ.ˈɡɾaw/. detrás is at rank #10,172, tagged as anadv, pronounced /dɨ.ˈtɾaʃ/.

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 27161, this pair ranks #41,856 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of degrau vs detrás

Shared letters: der. Private to "degrau": agu. Private to "detrás": stá.

"degrau" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVV  ·  "detrás" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • degrauddegrau · degaru · deggrau · degrrau · degrua · dergau · dgerau · edgrau

Frequency comparison

degrau#16,989
detrás#10,172

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "degrau" and "detrás" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "degrau" is a noun and "detrás" an adverb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "degrau" or "detrás"?
"detrás" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #10,172 in our Portuguese list, against #16,989 for "degrau". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering degrau vs detrás

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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