Which to use
“due” is an adjective and “dürfe” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #19,191
- “due” frequency rank
- #7,900
- “dürfe” frequency rank
- 27091
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | due | dürfe |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | fällig | 1. Person Singular Konjunktiv I Präsens Aktiv des Verbs dürfen |
Where the eye mixes due and dürfe
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: due vs dürfe
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: due is [djuː] while dürfe is [ˈdʏʁfə]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 27091, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
due is recorded at frequency rank #19,191, classified as anadj, pronounced [djuː]. dürfe is at rank #7,900, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈdʏʁfə].
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 27091, this pair ranks #1,807,498 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of due vs dürfe
Shared letters: de. Private to "due": u. Private to "dürfe": frü.
"due" · 3 letters · shape CVV · "dürfe" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "due" and "dürfe" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary German text, does "due" or "dürfe" show up more?
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 "due" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "dürfe" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,807,498 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "due" and "dürfe" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "dudes vs due". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #1,807,498 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.