Which to use
“dem” is an article and “don” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #7,268
- “dem” frequency rank
- #4,306
- “don” frequency rank
- 11574
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | dem | don |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | o, ao, do, artigo definido masculino do caso dativo singular | professor universitário (especialmente da Universidade de Oxford ou de Cambridge) |
Where the eye mixes dem and don
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.
Visual trap between dem and don
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: dem is /deːm/ while don is /dɒn/ ouvir ^(fonte ?). Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (article vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 11574, 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/. don is at rank #4,306, tagged as anoun, pronounced /dɒn/ ouvir ^(fonte ?).
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 11574, this pair ranks #61,232 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of dem vs don
Shared letters: d. Private to "dem": em. Private to "don": no.
"dem" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "don" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "dem" and "don" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "dem" or "don"?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "dem" and "don" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "dem" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "don" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #61,232 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "dem" and "don" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "dat vs dem". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #61,232 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.