Which to use
“des” is a determiner and “doi” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #23
- “des” frequency rank
- #42,427
- “doi” frequency rank
- 42450
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | des | doi |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | [1] Genitiv Singular von der und das | 3. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs doić |
Where the eye mixes des and doi
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.
Look-alike desk: des vs doi
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: des is [dɛs] while doi is [ˈdɔji]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (determiner vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 42450, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
des is recorded at frequency rank #23, classified as adet, pronounced [dɛs]. 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 42450, this pair ranks #1,448,914 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of des vs doi
Shared letters: d. Private to "des": es. Private to "doi": io.
"des" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "doi" · 3 letters · shape CVV
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "des" and "doi" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "des" or "doi"?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "des" 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 #1,448,914 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "des" and "doi" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "doi vs dörr". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #1,448,914 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.