deuvsDUHWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: deu is a num, DUH is an abbrev, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“deu” is a num and “DUH” is an abbrev - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#30,509
“deu” frequency rank
#38,693
“DUH” frequency rank
69202
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature deu DUH
Definition zehn, die Kardinalzahl zwischen neun und elf Deutsche Umwelthilfe e.V.

Letter map: deu vs DUH

Shared letters muted; letters that set deu and DUH apart highlighted. Shared run: 2. deu (CVV) and DUH (CVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.

3 ch
deu
3 ch
DUH

Grammar separator: deu vs DUH

Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: deu is anum and DUHanabbrev. On the page they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 69202, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

deu is recorded at frequency rank #30,509, classified as anum, pronounced [dɛw]. DUH is at rank #38,693, tagged as anabbrev.

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 69202, this pair ranks #483,852 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of deu vs DUH

Shared letters: du. Private to "deu": e. Private to "DUH": h.

"deu" · 3 letters · shape CVV  ·  "DUH" · 3 letters · shape CVC

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "deu" and "DUH" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "deu" is a num and "DUH" an abbrev, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Frequency check: "deu" vs "DUH" - which ranks higher?
"deu" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #30,509 in our German list, against #38,693 for "DUH". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Pair "deu" vs "DUH" is on the table, pick a follow-up below.

  • Full dictionary entry for "deu" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "DUH" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #483,852 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "deu" and "DUH" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "DUH vs dusch". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #483,852 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