Which to use
“dele” is a contraction and “delete” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #261
- “dele” frequency rank
- #33,777
- “delete” frequency rank
- 34038
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | dele | delete |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | contração da preposição de com o pronome pessoal ele | excluir |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set dele and delete apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
dele and delete form a confusable pair in the Portuguese index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “dele” sits inside “delete” - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 34038, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
dele is recorded at frequency rank #261, classified as acontraction, pronounced /ˈde.lɨ/. delete is at rank #33,777, tagged as averb, pronounced /dɪ.ˈliːt/.
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 34038, this pair ranks #33,333 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "dele" and "delete" be used interchangeably?
Remembering dele vs delete
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need a contraction, it's “dele”; for a verb, it's “delete”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “dele” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable