Which to use
“Demos” is a noun and “dos” is a num - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #8,189
- “Demos” frequency rank
- #14,542
- “dos” frequency rank
- 22731
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Demos | dos |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | altgriechischer Stadtstaat | die Kardinalzahl zwischen eins und drei; zwei |
Where the eye mixes Demos and dos
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses Demos with dos
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Demos is [ˈdeːmɔs] while dos is [dos]. 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 num), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 22731, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Demos is recorded at frequency rank #8,189, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈdeːmɔs]. dos is at rank #14,542, tagged as anum, pronounced [dos].
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 22731, this pair ranks #1,870,468 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of Demos vs dos
Shared letters: dos. Private to "Demos": em. Private to "dos": -.
"Demos" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC · "dos" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- Demos ← ddemos · demmos · demoss · demso · deoms · dmeos · edmos
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "Demos" for "dos" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "Demos" or "dos" show up more?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "Demos" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "dos" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,870,468 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Demos" and "dos" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Docks vs dos". 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 #1,870,468 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.