Which to use
“dem” is an article and “du” is a pronoun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #7,268
- “dem” frequency rank
- #5,187
- “du” frequency rank
- 12455
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | dem | du |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | o, ao, do, artigo definido masculino do caso dativo singular | você, tu |
Where the eye mixes dem and du
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.
Look-alike desk: dem vs du
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: dem is /deːm/ while du is /du:/ ouvir^(fonte ?). Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (article vs pronoun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 12455, 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/. du is at rank #5,187, tagged as apron, pronounced /du:/ 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 12455, this pair ranks #60,121 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of dem vs du
Shared letters: d. Private to "dem": em. Private to "du": u.
"dem" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "du" · 2 letters · shape CV
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "dem" and "du" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary Portuguese text, does "dem" or "du" show up more?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "dem" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "du" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #60,121 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "dem" and "du" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "dat vs dem". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #60,121 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.