demvsdemosWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: dem is a article, demos is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“dem” is an article and “demos” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#7,268
“dem” frequency rank
#8,749
“demos” frequency rank
16017
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature dem demos
Definition o, ao, do, artigo definido masculino do caso dativo singular forma plural de demo

Where the spellings diverge

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

3 ch
dem
5 ch
demos

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: dem is /deːm/ while demos is /ˈde.mʊs/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “dem” sits inside “demos”, and the parts of speech differ too (article vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 16017, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

dem is recorded at frequency rank #7,268, classified as anarticle, pronounced /deːm/. demos is at rank #8,749, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈde.mʊs/.

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 16017, this pair ranks #55,649 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of dem vs demos

Shared letters: dem. Private to "dem": -. Private to "demos": os.

"dem" · 3 letters · shape CVC  ·  "demos" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • demosddemos · demmos · demoss · demso · deoms · dmeos · edmos

Frequency comparison

dem#7,268
demos#8,749

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "dem" and "demos" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "dem" is an article and "demos" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "dem" or "demos"?
"dem" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #7,268 in our Portuguese list, against #8,749 for "demos". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering dem vs demos

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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