negavsnelasWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: nega is a verb, nelas is a contraction, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“nega” is a verb and “nelas” is a contraction - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#5,117
“nega” frequency rank
#8,231
“nelas” frequency rank
13348
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature nega nelas
Definition terceira pessoa do singular do presente do indicativo do verbo negar contração da preposição em com o pronome pessoal no plural elas: plural de nela

Where the spellings diverge

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

4 ch
nega
5 ch
nelas

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: nega is averb and nelasacontraction. On the page they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 13348, 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/. nelas is at rank #8,231, tagged as acontraction.

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 13348, this pair ranks #59,029 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of nega vs nelas

Shared letters: aen. Private to "nega": g. Private to "nelas": ls.

"nega" · 4 letters · shape CVCV  ·  "nelas" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • negaenga · neag · negga · ngea · nnega
  • nelasenlas · neals · nelass · nellas · nelsa · nleas · nnelas

Frequency comparison

nega#5,117
nelas#8,231

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "nega" and "nelas" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "nega" is a verb and "nelas" a contraction, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "nega" or "nelas"?
"nega" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,117 in our Portuguese list, against #8,231 for "nelas". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering nega vs nelas

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “nega”; for a contraction, it's “nelas”.
  • 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

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list