Which to use
“dai” is a verb and “du” is a pronoun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #30,992
- “dai” frequency rank
- #38
- “du” frequency rank
- 31030
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | dai | du |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 2. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs dare | der Angesprochene oder Angeschriebene, falls nicht die Höflichkeitsform Sie verwendet wird |
Where the eye mixes dai and du
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.
Look-alike desk: dai vs du
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: dai is [ˈdai] while du is [duː]. 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 (verb vs pronoun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 31030, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
dai is recorded at frequency rank #30,992, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈdai]. du is at rank #38, tagged as apron, pronounced [duː].
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 31030, this pair ranks #1,736,195 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of dai vs du
Shared letters: d. Private to "dai": ai. Private to "du": u.
"dai" · 3 letters · shape CVV · "du" · 2 letters · shape CV
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "dai" for "du" ever safe?
Which is more common, "dai" or "du"?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "dai" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "du" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,736,195 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "dai" and "du" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "dai vs duc". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #1,736,195 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.