Which to use
“demente” and “dormente” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #28,930
- “demente” frequency rank
- #32,568
- “dormente” frequency rank
- 61498
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | demente | dormente |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | que apresenta demência | que está dormido ou dormida, adormecido |
Where the eye mixes demente and dormente
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. demente runs 7 letters (CVCVCCV) against dormente's 8 (CVCCVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between demente and dormente
A purely visual mix-up. demente (/dɨ.ˈmẽ.tɨ/) and dormente (/duɾ.ˈmẽ.tɨ/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 61498, 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/. dormente is at rank #32,568, tagged as anadj, pronounced /duɾ.ˈmẽ.tɨ/.
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 61498, this pair ranks #7,109 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of demente vs dormente
Shared letters: demnt. Private to "demente": -. Private to "dormente": or.
"demente" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCCV · "dormente" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "demente" and "dormente" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "demente" vs "dormente" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "demente" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "dormente" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #7,109 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "demente" and "dormente" 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 #7,109 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.