deixar vs delirar, What's the Difference?

Which to use

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

#309
“deixar” frequency rank: #37,744
“delirar” frequency rank: 38053
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	deixar	delirar
Definition	soltar algo	estar em delírio

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set deixar and delirar apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch

deixar

7 ch

delirar

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. deixar (/dɐj.ˈʃaɾ/) and delirar (/dɨ.li.ˈɾaɾ/) 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 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 38053, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

deixar is recorded at frequency rank #309, classified as averb, pronounced /dɐj.ˈʃaɾ/. delirar is at rank #37,744, tagged as averb, pronounced /dɨ.li.ˈɾaɾ/.

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 38053, this pair ranks #28,465 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of deixar vs delirar

Shared letters: adeir. Private to "deixar": x. Private to "delirar": l.

"deixar" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC · "delirar" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

deixar ← ddeixar · deiaxr · deixarr · deixra · deixxar · dexiar · diexar · edixar
delirar ← ddelirar · deilrar · deliarr · delirarr · delirra · delirrar · dellirar · delriar

Frequency comparison

deixar#309

delirar#37,744

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "deixar" and "delirar" be used interchangeably?

No. They are said differently (/dɐj.ˈʃaɾ/ versus /dɨ.li.ˈɾaɾ/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.

Which is more common, "deixar" or "delirar"?

"deixar" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #309 in our Portuguese list, against #37,744 for "delirar". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering deixar vs delirar

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 “deixar” entry
Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable