ducvsdukeWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: duc is a noun, duke is a particle, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“duc” is a noun and “duke” is a particle - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#48,075
“duc” frequency rank
#13,578
“duke” frequency rank
61653
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature duc duke
Definition der Herzog, der Führer -

Where the spellings diverge

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

3 ch
duc
4 ch
duke

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

duc and duke form a confusable pair in the German index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They differ by 1 letter(s) in length - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 61653, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

duc is recorded at frequency rank #48,075, classified as anoun, pronounced [duk]. duke is at rank #13,578, tagged as aparticle, pronounced […].

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 61653, this pair ranks #741,664 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Frequency comparison

duc#48,075
duke#13,578

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "duc" and "duke" be used interchangeably?
No, "duc" and "duke" have distinct meanings and cannot be swapped without changing the meaning of a sentence. Understanding the specific definition and context for each word is essential for correct usage.

Remembering duc vs duke

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “duc”; for a particle, it's “duke”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “duc” 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