dívidavsdúvidaWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“dívida” and “dúvida” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#2,873
“dívida” frequency rank
#1,358
“dúvida” frequency rank
4231
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature dívida dúvida
Definition aquilo que se deve questionamento, indecisão

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set dívida and dúvida apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
dívida
6 ch
dúvida

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

dívida and dúvida are indexed as a confusable Portuguese pair. We have no recorded pronunciation or part of speech for both members, so the spelling overlap is what we can show you: they differ by a single letter - í in “dívida” becomes ú in “dúvida”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 4231, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

dívida is recorded at frequency rank #2,873, classified as anoun. dúvida is at rank #1,358, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈdu.vi.dɐ/.

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 4231, this pair ranks #70,751 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of dívida vs dúvida

Shared letters: adiv. Private to "dívida": í. Private to "dúvida": ú.

"dívida" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV  ·  "dúvida" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV

Frequency comparison

dívida#2,873
dúvida#1,358

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "dívida" and "dúvida" be used interchangeably?
No. They differ by a single letter - í in “dívida” becomes ú in “dúvida”, but the dictionary glosses above give them different meanings, so swapping one for the other changes what the sentence says.
Which is more common, "dívida" or "dúvida"?
"dúvida" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,358 in our Portuguese list, against #2,873 for "dívida". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering dívida vs dúvida

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “dívida” 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