DumavsdutyWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“Duma” and “duty” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#41,116
“Duma” frequency rank
#21,948
“duty” frequency rank
63064
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Duma duty
Definition russisches Unterhaus die moralische oder gesetzliche Pflicht

Where the spellings diverge

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

4 ch
Duma
4 ch
duty

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. Duma ([ˈduːma]) and duty ([ˈdjuːti]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 63064, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Duma is recorded at frequency rank #41,116, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈduːma]. duty is at rank #21,948, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈdjuːti].

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 63064, this pair ranks #690,155 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Duma vs duty

Shared letters: du. Private to "Duma": am. Private to "duty": ty.

"Duma" · 4 letters · shape CVCV  ·  "duty" · 4 letters · shape CVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Dumadduma · dmua · duam · dumma · udma
  • dutydduty · dtuy · dutty · dutyy · duyt · udty

Frequency comparison

Duma#41,116
duty#21,948

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Duma" and "duty" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈduːma] versus [ˈdjuːti]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Duma" or "duty"?
"duty" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #21,948 in our German list, against #41,116 for "Duma". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering Duma vs duty

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “Duma” 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