nega vs nei, What's the Difference?

Which to use

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

#5,117
“nega” frequency rank: #27,191
“nei” frequency rank: 32308
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	nega	nei
Definition	terceira pessoa do singular do presente do indicativo do verbo negar	negar

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set nega and nei apart are highlighted. They share 2 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch

nega

3 ch

nei

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. nega (/ˈnɛ.ɡɐ/) and nei (/ˈnɛ.i/.) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 32308, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

nega is recorded at frequency rank #5,117, classified as averb, pronounced /ˈnɛ.ɡɐ/. nei is at rank #27,191, tagged as averb, pronounced /ˈnɛ.i/..

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 32308, this pair ranks #35,530 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of nega vs nei

Shared letters: en. Private to "nega": ag. Private to "nei": i.

"nega" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "nei" · 3 letters · shape CVV

Known mistypes of this pair

nega ← enga · neag · negga · ngea · nnega

Frequency comparison

nega#5,117

nei#27,191

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "nega" and "nei" be used interchangeably?

No. They are said differently (/ˈnɛ.ɡɐ/ versus /ˈnɛ.i/.) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.

Which is more common, "nega" or "nei"?

"nega" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,117 in our Portuguese list, against #27,191 for "nei". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering nega vs nei

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 “nega” entry
Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable