Which to use
“deg” is a verb and “du” is a pronoun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #33,522
- “deg” frequency rank
- #38
- “du” frequency rank
- 33560
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | deg | du |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 3. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs degt | der Angesprochene oder Angeschriebene, falls nicht die Höflichkeitsform Sie verwendet wird |
Where the eye mixes deg and du
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.
Why the eye confuses deg with du
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: deg is [dɛk] 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 33560, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
deg is recorded at frequency rank #33,522, classified as averb, pronounced [dɛk]. 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 33560, this pair ranks #1,683,245 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of deg vs du
Shared letters: d. Private to "deg": eg. Private to "du": u.
"deg" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "du" · 2 letters · shape CV
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "deg" and "du" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "deg" vs "du" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "deg" 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 #1,683,245 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "deg" and "du" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "deg vs diet". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #1,683,245 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.