Which to use
“dobre” is an adverb and “doce” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #30,519
- “dobre” frequency rank
- #1,532
- “doce” frequency rank
- 32051
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | dobre | doce |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | bem | que tem sabor agradável, como o do açúcar, do mel ou qualquer outro adoçante |
Where the eye mixes dobre and doce
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses dobre with doce
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: dobre is ˈdɔbrɛ/ while doce is /ˈdo.sɨ/. 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 (adverb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 32051, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
dobre is recorded at frequency rank #30,519, classified as anadv, pronounced ˈdɔbrɛ/. doce is at rank #1,532, tagged as anadj, pronounced /ˈdo.sɨ/.
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 32051, this pair ranks #35,858 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of dobre vs doce
Shared letters: deo. Private to "dobre": br. Private to "doce": c.
"dobre" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV · "doce" · 4 letters · shape CVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "dobre" for "doce" ever safe?
Which is more common, "dobre" or "doce"?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "dobre" and "doce" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "dobre" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "doce" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #35,858 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "dobre" and "doce" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "dare vs dobre". 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 #35,858 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.