denvsdigWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#19,112
“den” frequency rank
#34,238
“dig” frequency rank
53350
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature den dig
Definition o, artigo definido masculino do caso acusativo singular: cavar, escavar

Where the spellings diverge

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

3 ch
den
3 ch
dig

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: den is anarticle and digaverb. On the page they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 53350, 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 ?). dig is at rank #34,238, tagged as averb.

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 53350, this pair ranks #12,093 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of den vs dig

Shared letters: d. Private to "den": en. Private to "dig": gi.

"den" · 3 letters · shape CVC  ·  "dig" · 3 letters · shape CVC

Frequency comparison

den#19,112
dig#34,238

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "den" and "dig" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "den" is an article and "dig" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "den" or "dig"?
"den" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #19,112 in our Portuguese list, against #34,238 for "dig". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering den vs dig

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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