dig vs dos, What's the Difference?

Which to use

“dig” is a verb and “dos” is a num - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#34,238
“dig” frequency rank: #24
“dos” frequency rank: 34262
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	dig	dos
Definition	cavar, escavar	o número dois

Letter map: dig vs dos

Shared letters muted; letters that set dig and dos apart highlighted. Shared run: 1.

3 ch

dig

3 ch

dos

Grammar separator: dig vs dos

Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: dig is averb and dosanum. On the page they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 34262, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

dig is recorded at frequency rank #34,238, classified as averb. dos is at rank #24, tagged as anum, pronounced /dɔs/.

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 34262, this pair ranks #33,061 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of dig vs dos

Shared letters: d. Private to "dig": gi. Private to "dos": os.

"dig" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "dos" · 3 letters · shape CVC

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "dig" for "dos" ever safe?

No - they are not even the same part of speech. "dig" is a verb and "dos" a num, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.

Which is more common, "dig" or "dos"?

"dos" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #24 in our Portuguese list, against #34,238 for "dig". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Useful next steps

You've compared "dig" and "dos". Here's where to go from here.

Full dictionary entry for "dig" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
Full dictionary entry for "dos" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
This pair ranks #33,061 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
"dig" and "dos" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "dat vs dig". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #33,061 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.