Which to use
“demi” is an adjective and “doi” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #36,873
- “demi” frequency rank
- #42,427
- “doi” frequency rank
- 79300
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | demi | doi |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | halb | 3. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs doić |
Where the eye mixes demi and doi
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses demi with doi
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: demi is [də.mi] while doi is [ˈdɔji]. 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 (adjective vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 79300, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
demi is recorded at frequency rank #36,873, classified as anadj, pronounced [də.mi]. doi is at rank #42,427, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈdɔji].
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 79300, this pair ranks #219,423 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of demi vs doi
Shared letters: di. Private to "demi": em. Private to "doi": o.
"demi" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "doi" · 3 letters · shape CVV
Known mistypes of this pair
- demi ← ddemi · demmi · dmei · edmi
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "demi" for "doi" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "demi" or "doi" show up more?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "demi" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "doi" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #219,423 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "demi" and "doi" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "doi vs dörr". 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 #219,423 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.