Which to use
“du” is a pronoun and “Dus” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #38
- “du” frequency rank
- #19,874
- “Dus” frequency rank
- 19912
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | du | Dus |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | der Angesprochene oder Angeschriebene, falls nicht die Höflichkeitsform Sie verwendet wird | Genitiv Singular des Substantivs Du |
Where the eye mixes du and Dus
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses du with Dus
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: du is [duː] while Dus is [duːs]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “du” sits inside “Dus”, and the parts of speech differ too (pronoun vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 19912, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
du is recorded at frequency rank #38, classified as apron, pronounced [duː]. Dus is at rank #19,874, tagged as anoun, pronounced [duːs].
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 19912, this pair ranks #1,903,304 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of du vs Dus
Shared letters: du. Private to "du": -. Private to "Dus": s.
"du" · 2 letters · shape CV · "Dus" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "du" and "Dus" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "du" or "Dus"?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "du" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Dus" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,903,304 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "du" and "Dus" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Dus vs dusch". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #1,903,304 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.