dementevsdenteConfusable pair

Quick tell: demente is a adjective, dente is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“demente” is an adjective and “dente” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#28,930
“demente” frequency rank
#5,404
“dente” frequency rank
34334
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature demente dente
Definition que apresenta demência estrutura calcárea, dura, geralmente esmaltada, presente na boca dos animais vertebrados, usada para cortar, arrancar, triturar e moer alimentos, assim como para defesa e ataque

Letter map: demente vs dente

Shared letters muted; letters that set demente and dente apart highlighted. Shared run: 5. demente runs 7 letters (CVCVCCV) against dente's 5 (CVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

7 ch
demente
5 ch
dente

Role in the sentence - demente and dente

Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: demente is anadjective and denteanoun. On the page they differ by 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 34334, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

demente is recorded at frequency rank #28,930, classified as anadj, pronounced /dɨ.ˈmẽ.tɨ/. dente is at rank #5,404, tagged as anoun.

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 34334, this pair ranks #32,967 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of demente vs dente

Shared letters: dent. Private to "demente": m. Private to "dente": -.

"demente" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCCV  ·  "dente" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • demente ← ddemente · deemnte · demenet · demennte · dementte · demetne · demmente · demnete
  • dente ← ddente · denet · dennte · dentte · detne · dnete · ednte

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "demente" and "dente" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "demente" is an adjective and "dente" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Frequency check: "demente" vs "dente" - which ranks higher?
"dente" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,404 in our Portuguese list, against #28,930 for "demente". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

You've compared "demente" and "dente". Here's where to go from here.

  • Full dictionary entry for "demente" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "dente" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #32,967 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "demente" and "dente" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "delete vs demente". Nearby pair
  • Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes

Confusion rank #32,967 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list