denvsdiezWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: den is a article, diez is a num, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“den” is an article and “diez” is a num - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#19,112
“den” frequency rank
#44,810
“diez” frequency rank
63922
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature den diez
Definition o, artigo definido masculino do caso acusativo singular: o número dez

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set den and diez apart are highlighted. They share 2 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

3 ch
den
4 ch
diez

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: den is /deːn/ ouvir^(fonte ?) while diez is /dĭeθ/ 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 num), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 63922, 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 ?). diez is at rank #44,810, tagged as anum, pronounced /dĭeθ/ 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 63922, this pair ranks #5,989 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of den vs diez

Shared letters: de. Private to "den": n. Private to "diez": iz.

"den" · 3 letters · shape CVC  ·  "diez" · 4 letters · shape CVVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • diezddiez · deiz · diezz · idez

Frequency comparison

den#19,112
diez#44,810

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "den" and "diez" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "den" is an article and "diez" a num, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "den" or "diez"?
"den" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #19,112 in our Portuguese list, against #44,810 for "diez". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering den vs diez

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need an article, it's “den”; for a num, it's “diez”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “den” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list