desejovsdesvioWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#1,189
“desejo” frequency rank
#7,388
“desvio” frequency rank
8577
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature desejo desvio
Definition aquilo que se deseja mudança de direção

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set desejo and desvio apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
desejo
6 ch
desvio

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. desejo (/dɨ.ˈzaj.ʒu/) and desvio (/dɨʒ.ˈvi.u/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 8577, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

desejo is recorded at frequency rank #1,189, classified as anoun, pronounced /dɨ.ˈzaj.ʒu/. desvio is at rank #7,388, tagged as anoun, pronounced /dɨʒ.ˈvi.u/.

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 8577, this pair ranks #65,144 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of desejo vs desvio

Shared letters: deos. Private to "desejo": j. Private to "desvio": iv.

"desejo" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV  ·  "desvio" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • desejoddesejo · deesjo · desejjo · deseoj · desjeo · dessejo · dseejo · edsejo
  • desvioddesvio · desivo · dessvio · desvoi · desvvio · devsio · dsevio · edsvio

Frequency comparison

desejo#1,189
desvio#7,388

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "desejo" and "desvio" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (/dɨ.ˈzaj.ʒu/ versus /dɨʒ.ˈvi.u/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "desejo" or "desvio"?
"desejo" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,189 in our Portuguese list, against #7,388 for "desvio". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering desejo vs desvio

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “desejo” 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