destavsdistalWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: desta is a contraction, distal is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“desta” is a contraction and “distal” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#364
“desta” frequency rank
#44,817
“distal” frequency rank
45181
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature desta distal
Definition contração da preposição de com o pronome ou determinante demonstrativo esta que se localiza longe do ponto de origem

Where the spellings diverge

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

5 ch
desta
6 ch
distal

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: desta is acontraction and distalanadjective. On the page they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 45181, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

desta is recorded at frequency rank #364, classified as acontraction, pronounced /ˈdɛʃ.tɐ/. distal is at rank #44,817, tagged as anadj.

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 45181, this pair ranks #20,225 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of desta vs distal

Shared letters: adst. Private to "desta": e. Private to "distal": il.

"desta" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV  ·  "distal" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • destaddesta · desat · dessta · destta · detsa · dseta · edsta
  • distalddistal · disatl · disstal · distall · distla · disttal · ditsal · dsital

Frequency comparison

desta#364
distal#44,817

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "desta" and "distal" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "desta" is a contraction and "distal" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "desta" or "distal"?
"desta" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #364 in our Portuguese list, against #44,817 for "distal". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering desta vs distal

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a contraction, it's “desta”; for an adjective, it's “distal”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “desta” 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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list