digvsdoiWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: dig is a unknown, doi is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“dig” is an unknown and “doi” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#36,261
“dig” frequency rank
#42,427
“doi” frequency rank
78688
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature dig doi
Definition Akkusativ des Personalpronomens du 3. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs doić

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set dig and doi apart are highlighted. They share 2 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

3 ch
dig
3 ch
doi

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: dig is [ˈd̥ɑj] 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 (unknown vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 78688, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

dig is recorded at frequency rank #36,261, classified as anunknown, pronounced [ˈd̥ɑj]. 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 78688, this pair ranks #232,713 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of dig vs doi

Shared letters: di. Private to "dig": g. Private to "doi": o.

"dig" · 3 letters · shape CVC  ·  "doi" · 3 letters · shape CVV

Frequency comparison

dig#36,261
doi#42,427

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "dig" and "doi" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "dig" is an unknown and "doi" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "dig" or "doi"?
"dig" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #36,261 in our German list, against #42,427 for "doi". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering dig vs doi

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need an unknown, it's “dig”; for a verb, it's “doi”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “dig” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list