desfilarvsdesfileWhich spelling fits?

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

Which to use

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

#17,482
“desfilar” frequency rank
#4,059
“desfile” frequency rank
21541
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature desfilar desfile
Definition passar em filas ato de desfilar

Where the eye mixes desfilar and desfile

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. desfilar runs 8 letters (CVCCVCVC) against desfile's 7 (CVCCVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

8 ch
desfilar
7 ch
desfile

Look-alike desk: desfilar vs desfile

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: desfilar is /dɨʃ.fi.ˈlaɾ/ while desfile is /dɨʃ.ˈfi.lɨ/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 21541, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

desfilar is recorded at frequency rank #17,482, classified as averb, pronounced /dɨʃ.fi.ˈlaɾ/. desfile is at rank #4,059, tagged as anoun, pronounced /dɨʃ.ˈfi.lɨ/.

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 21541, this pair ranks #48,692 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of desfilar vs desfile

Shared letters: defils. Private to "desfilar": ar. Private to "desfile": -.

"desfilar" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVC  ·  "desfile" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • desfilar ← ddesfilar · defsilar · desffilar · desfialr · desfilarr · desfillar · desfilra · desfliar
  • desfile ← ddesfile · defsile · desffile · desfiel · desfille · desflie · desifle · dessfile

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "desfilar" and "desfile" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "desfilar" is a verb and "desfile" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "desfilar" or "desfile"?
"desfile" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,059 in our Portuguese list, against #17,482 for "desfilar". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "desfilar" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "desfile" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #48,692 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "desfilar" and "desfile" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "descolar vs desfilar". 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 #48,692 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