dun vs Dung, What's the Difference?

Which to use

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

#37,461
“dun” frequency rank: #45,866
“Dung” frequency rank: 83327
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	dun	Dung
Definition	im Zustand nach Genuss von zu viel Alkohol	ein Gemisch von Fäkalien zum Fördern des Wachstums von (Nutz-)Pflanzen

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set dun and Dung apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

3 ch

dun

4 ch

Dung

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: dun is [duːn] while Dung is [dʊŋ]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “dun” sits inside “Dung”, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 83327, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

dun is recorded at frequency rank #37,461, classified as anadj, pronounced [duːn]. Dung is at rank #45,866, tagged as anoun, pronounced [dʊŋ].

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 83327, this pair ranks #141,786 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of dun vs Dung

Shared letters: dnu. Private to "dun": -. Private to "Dung": g.

"dun" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "Dung" · 4 letters · shape CVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

Dung ← ddung · dnug · dugn · dungg · dunng · udng

Frequency comparison

dun#37,461

Dung#45,866

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "dun" and "Dung" be used interchangeably?

No - they are not even the same part of speech. "dun" is an adjective and "Dung" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.

Which is more common, "dun" or "Dung"?

"dun" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #37,461 in our German list, against #45,866 for "Dung". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering dun vs Dung

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “dun”; for a noun, it's “Dung”.
See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “dun” entry
Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable