descervsdeterConfusable pair

Which to use

“descer” and “deter” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#4,630
“descer” frequency rank
#5,519
“deter” frequency rank
10149
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature descer deter
Definition ir ou passar de um lugar mais alto para um lugar mais baixo proceder à detenção; prender; reter à força

Letter map: descer vs deter

Shared letters muted; letters that set descer and deter apart highlighted. Shared run: 4.

6 ch
descer
5 ch
deter

Spelling & dictionary notes on descer vs deter

descer and deter are indexed as a confusable Portuguese pair. We have no recorded pronunciation or part of speech for both members, so the spelling overlap is what we can show you: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 10149, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

descer is recorded at frequency rank #4,630, classified as averb, pronounced /dɨʃ.ˈseɾ/. deter is at rank #5,519, 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 10149, this pair ranks #63,067 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of descer vs deter

Shared letters: der. Private to "descer": cs. Private to "deter": t.

"descer" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC  ·  "deter" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • descerddescer · decser · desccer · descerr · descre · desecr · desscer · dsecer
  • deterddeter · deetr · deterr · detre · detter · dteer · edter

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "descer" for "deter" ever safe?
No. They differ by 1 letter(s) in length, but the dictionary glosses above give them different meanings, so swapping one for the other changes what the sentence says.
Frequency check: "descer" vs "deter" - which ranks higher?
"descer" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,630 in our Portuguese list, against #5,519 for "deter". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Done with this confusable. These links stay specific to "descer" and "deter".

  • Full dictionary entry for "descer" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "deter" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #63,067 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "descer" and "deter" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "deter vs detox". 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 #63,067 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list