dona vs dun, What's the Difference?

Which to use

“dona” is a noun and “dun” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#44,532
“dona” frequency rank: #37,461
“dun” frequency rank: 81993
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	dona	dun
Definition	Nominativ Plural des Substantivs donum „Gabe, Geschenk“	im Zustand nach Genuss von zu viel Alkohol

Where the spellings diverge

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

4 ch

dona

3 ch

dun

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: dona is anoun and dunanadjective. On the page they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 81993, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

dona is recorded at frequency rank #44,532, classified as anoun, pronounced […]. dun is at rank #37,461, tagged as anadj, pronounced [duːn].

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 81993, this pair ranks #165,370 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of dona vs dun

Shared letters: dn. Private to "dona": ao. Private to "dun": u.

"dona" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "dun" · 3 letters · shape CVC

Known mistypes of this pair

dona ← ddona · dnoa · doan · odna

Frequency comparison

dona#44,532

dun#37,461

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "dona" and "dun" be used interchangeably?

No - they are not even the same part of speech. "dona" is a noun and "dun" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.

Which is more common, "dona" or "dun"?

"dun" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #37,461 in our German list, against #44,532 for "dona". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering dona vs dun

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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