dem vs dua, What's the Difference?

Which to use

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

#7,268
“dem” frequency rank: #39,112
“dua” frequency rank: 46380
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	dem	dua
Definition	o, ao, do, artigo definido masculino do caso dativo singular	querer

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set dem and dua apart are highlighted. They share 1 letter in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

3 ch

dem

3 ch

dua

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: dem is /deːm/ while dua is /ˈdwa/. 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 verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 46380, 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/. dua is at rank #39,112, tagged as averb, pronounced /ˈdwa/.

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 46380, this pair ranks #18,924 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of dem vs dua

Shared letters: d. Private to "dem": em. Private to "dua": au.

"dem" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "dua" · 3 letters · shape CVV

Frequency comparison

dem#7,268

dua#39,112

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "dem" and "dua" be used interchangeably?

No - they are not even the same part of speech. "dem" is an article and "dua" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.

Which is more common, "dem" or "dua"?

"dem" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #7,268 in our Portuguese list, against #39,112 for "dua". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering dem vs dua

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

Check the role first: if you need an article, it's “dem”; for a verb, it's “dua”.
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