Which to use
“desfile” and “desire” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #4,059
- “desfile” frequency rank
- #32,556
- “desire” frequency rank
- 36615
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | desfile | desire |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | ato de desfilar | desejo |
Where the eye mixes desfile and desire
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. desfile runs 7 letters (CVCCVCV) against desire's 6 (CVCVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses desfile with desire
A purely visual mix-up. desfile (/dɨʃ.ˈfi.lɨ/) and desire (/dɪˈzaɪə/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 36615, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
desfile is recorded at frequency rank #4,059, classified as anoun, pronounced /dɨʃ.ˈfi.lɨ/. desire is at rank #32,556, tagged as anoun, pronounced /dɪˈzaɪə/.
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 36615, this pair ranks #30,140 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of desfile vs desire
Shared letters: deis. Private to "desfile": fl. Private to "desire": r.
"desfile" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCV · "desire" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "desfile" for "desire" ever safe?
Which is more common, "desfile" or "desire"?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "desfile" and "desire" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "desfile" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "desire" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #30,140 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "desfile" and "desire" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "desire vs device". 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 #30,140 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.