deserção vs deserto, What's the Difference?

Which to use

“deserção” is a noun and “deserto” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#42,877
“deserção” frequency rank: #3,978
“deserto” frequency rank: 46855
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	deserção	deserto
Definition	fuga; abandono do posto	desabitado, despovoado, solitário

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set deserção and deserto apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

8 ch

deserção

7 ch

deserto

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: deserção is anoun and desertoanadjective. On the page they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 46855, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

deserção is recorded at frequency rank #42,877, classified as anoun. deserto is at rank #3,978, tagged as anadj, pronounced /dɨ.ˈzɛɾ.tu/.

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 46855, this pair ranks #18,449 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of deserção vs deserto

Shared letters: deors. Private to "deserção": ãç. Private to "deserto": t.

"deserção" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVV · "deserto" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

deserto ← ddeserto · deesrto · deserot · deserrto · desertto · desetro · desreto · desserto

Frequency comparison

deserção#42,877

deserto#3,978

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "deserção" and "deserto" be used interchangeably?

No - they are not even the same part of speech. "deserção" is a noun and "deserto" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.

Which is more common, "deserção" or "deserto"?

"deserto" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,978 in our Portuguese list, against #42,877 for "deserção". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering deserção vs deserto

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “deserção”; for an adjective, it's “deserto”.
See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “deserção” entry
Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable