DauervsdueWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#2,238
“Dauer” frequency rank
#19,191
“due” frequency rank
21429
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Dauer due
Definition zeitliche Erstreckung von etwas fällig

Where the eye mixes Dauer and due

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.

5 ch
Dauer
3 ch
due

Why the eye confuses Dauer with due

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Dauer is [ˈdaʊ̯ɐ] while due is [djuː]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 21429, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Dauer is recorded at frequency rank #2,238, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈdaʊ̯ɐ]. due is at rank #19,191, tagged as anadj, pronounced [djuː].

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 21429, this pair ranks #1,886,362 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Dauer vs due

Shared letters: deu. Private to "Dauer": ar. Private to "due": -.

"Dauer" · 5 letters · shape CVVVC  ·  "due" · 3 letters · shape CVV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Daueraduer · daeur · dauerr · daure · ddauer · duaer

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "Dauer" for "due" ever safe?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "Dauer" is a noun and "due" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "Dauer" or "due"?
"Dauer" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,238 in our German list, against #19,191 for "due". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Dauer" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "due" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,886,362 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Dauer" and "due" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "dudes vs due". 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 #1,886,362 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list