Which to use
“den” is an article and “dez” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #19,112
- “den” frequency rank
- #771
- “dez” frequency rank
- 19883
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | den | dez |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | o, artigo definido masculino do caso acusativo singular: | dotado de bons atributos |
Where the eye mixes den and dez
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses den with dez
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: den is /deːn/ ouvir^(fonte ?) while dez is /ˈdɛʃ/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - n in “den” becomes z in “dez”, and the parts of speech differ too (article vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 19883, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
den is recorded at frequency rank #19,112, classified as anarticle, pronounced /deːn/ ouvir^(fonte ?). dez is at rank #771, tagged as anadj, pronounced /ˈdɛʃ/.
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 19883, this pair ranks #50,751 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of den vs dez
Shared letters: de. Private to "den": n. Private to "dez": z.
"den" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "dez" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "den" and "dez" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "den" or "dez"?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "den" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "dez" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #50,751 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "den" and "dez" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "dat vs den". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #50,751 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.