Which to use
“densa” is an adjective and “dessa” is a contraction - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #16,029
- “densa” frequency rank
- #375
- “dessa” frequency rank
- 16404
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | densa | dessa |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | forma feminina de denso | contração da preposição de com o pronome ou determinante demonstrativo feminino essa: |
Where the eye mixes densa and dessa
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. densa and dessa follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCCV). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Visual trap between densa and dessa
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: densa is /ˈdẽ.sɐ/ while dessa is /ˈdɛ.sɐ/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - n in “densa” becomes s in “dessa”, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs contraction), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 16404, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
densa is recorded at frequency rank #16,029, classified as anadj, pronounced /ˈdẽ.sɐ/. dessa is at rank #375, tagged as acontraction, pronounced /ˈdɛ.sɐ/.
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 16404, this pair ranks #55,138 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of densa vs dessa
Shared letters: ades. Private to "densa": n. Private to "dessa": -.
"densa" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV · "dessa" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "densa" and "dessa" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "densa" vs "dessa" - which ranks higher?
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 "densa" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "dessa" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #55,138 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "densa" and "dessa" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "denota vs densa". 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 #55,138 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.