Which to use
“depender” and “desprender” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #5,405
- “depender” frequency rank
- #47,294
- “desprender” frequency rank
- 52699
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | depender | desprender |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | estar na dependência de | desatar(-se), desligar(-se), separar(-se), soltar(-se) |
Where the eye mixes depender and desprender
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. depender runs 8 letters (CVCVCCVC) against desprender's 10 (CVCCCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses depender with desprender
A purely visual mix-up. depender (/dɨ.pẽ.ˈdeɾ/) and desprender (/dɨʃ.pɾẽ.ˈdeɾ/) 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 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 52699, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
depender is recorded at frequency rank #5,405, classified as averb, pronounced /dɨ.pẽ.ˈdeɾ/. desprender is at rank #47,294, tagged as averb, pronounced /dɨʃ.pɾẽ.ˈdeɾ/.
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 52699, this pair ranks #12,572 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of depender vs desprender
Shared letters: denpr. Private to "depender": -. Private to "desprender": s.
"depender" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC · "desprender" · 10 letters · shape CVCCCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- depender ← ddepender · deepnder · depedner · dependder · dependerr · dependre · depenedr · depennder
- desprender ← ddesprender · depsrender · despernder · despprender · despredner · desprendder · desprenderr · desprendre
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "depender" for "desprender" ever safe?
In ordinary Portuguese text, does "depender" or "desprender" show up more?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "depender" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "desprender" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #12,572 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "depender" and "desprender" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "defender vs depender". 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 #12,572 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.