dervsdeverWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: der is a verb, dever is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“der” is a verb and “dever” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#1,567
“der” frequency rank
#3,068
“dever” frequency rank
4635
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature der dever
Definition primeira pessoa do singular do futuro do conjuntivo/subjuntivo do verbo dar obrigação

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set der and dever apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

3 ch
der
5 ch
dever

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

der and dever form a confusable pair in the Portuguese index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They differ by 2 letter(s) in length - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 4635, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

der is recorded at frequency rank #1,567, classified as averb, pronounced /dɛɾ/, /dɛ/. dever is at rank #3,068, tagged as anoun, pronounced /dɨ.ˈveɾ/.

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 4635, this pair ranks #70,198 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Frequency comparison

der#1,567
dever#3,068

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "der" and "dever" be used interchangeably?
No, "der" and "dever" have distinct meanings and cannot be swapped without changing the meaning of a sentence. Understanding the specific definition and context for each word is essential for correct usage.

Remembering der vs dever

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “der”; for a noun, it's “dever”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “der” 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