dualvsDusConfusable pair

Quick tell: dual is a adjective, Dus is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

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

#13,577
“dual” frequency rank
#19,874
“Dus” frequency rank
33451
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature dual Dus
Definition eine Zweiheit bildend, aus zwei Einheiten bestehend Genitiv Singular des Substantivs Du

Where the eye mixes dual and Dus

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.

4 ch
dual
3 ch
Dus

Look-alike desk: dual vs Dus

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: dual is [duˈaːl] while Dus is [duːs]. 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 (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 33451, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

dual is recorded at frequency rank #13,577, classified as anadj, pronounced [duˈaːl]. 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 33451, this pair ranks #1,685,711 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of dual vs Dus

Shared letters: du. Private to "dual": al. Private to "Dus": s.

"dual" · 4 letters · shape CVVC  ·  "Dus" · 3 letters · shape CVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • dualdaul · ddual · duall · dula · udal

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "dual" and "Dus" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "dual" is an adjective and "Dus" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "dual" or "Dus"?
"dual" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #13,577 in our German list, against #19,874 for "Dus". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "dual" 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 #1,685,711 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "dual" and "Dus" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Dus vs dusch". 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 #1,685,711 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