Which to use
“drug” is a verb and “due” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #38,692
- “drug” frequency rank
- #19,191
- “due” frequency rank
- 57883
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | drug | due |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Präteritum (simple past) des Verbs drag | fällig |
Where the eye mixes drug and due
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence. drug runs 4 letters (CCVC) against due's 3 (CVV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between drug and due
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: drug is [dɹʌɡ] while due is [djuː]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 57883, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
drug is recorded at frequency rank #38,692, classified as averb, pronounced [dɹʌɡ]. due is at rank #19,191, tagged as anadj, pronounced [djuː].
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 57883, this pair ranks #884,073 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of drug vs due
Shared letters: du. Private to "drug": gr. Private to "due": e.
"drug" · 4 letters · shape CCVC · "due" · 3 letters · shape CVV
Known mistypes of this pair
- drug ← ddrug · drgu · drrug · drugg · durg · rdug
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "drug" and "due" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "drug" or "due"?
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 "drug" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "due" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #884,073 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "drug" and "due" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "drug vs duc". 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 #884,073 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.