dorsovsduroWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: dorso is a noun, duro is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“dorso” is a noun and “duro” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#32,954
“dorso” frequency rank
#3,070
“duro” frequency rank
36024
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature dorso duro
Definition costas difícil de quebrar ou de desfazer

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set dorso and duro apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
dorso
4 ch
duro

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: dorso is anoun and duroanadjective. On the page they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 36024, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

dorso is recorded at frequency rank #32,954, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈdoɾ.su/. duro is at rank #3,070, 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 36024, this pair ranks #30,881 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of dorso vs duro

Shared letters: dor. Private to "dorso": s. Private to "duro": u.

"dorso" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV  ·  "duro" · 4 letters · shape CVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • dorsoddorso · doros · dorrso · dorsso · dosro · droso · odrso
  • durodduro · druo · duor · durro · udro

Frequency comparison

dorso#32,954
duro#3,070

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "dorso" and "duro" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "dorso" is a noun and "duro" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "dorso" or "duro"?
"duro" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,070 in our Portuguese list, against #32,954 for "dorso". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering dorso vs duro

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “dorso”; for an adjective, it's “duro”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “dorso” 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