Which to use
“dun” is an adjective and “duzen” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #37,461
- “dun” frequency rank
- #35,717
- “duzen” frequency rank
- 73178
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | dun | duzen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | im Zustand nach Genuss von zu viel Alkohol | mit du anreden |
Where the eye mixes dun and duzen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. dun runs 3 letters (CVC) against duzen's 5 (CVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses dun with duzen
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: dun is [duːn] while duzen is [ˈduːt͡sn̩]. 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 73178, 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]. duzen is at rank #35,717, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈduːt͡sn̩].
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 73178, this pair ranks #367,576 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of dun vs duzen
Shared letters: dnu. Private to "dun": -. Private to "duzen": ez.
"dun" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "duzen" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- duzen ← dduzen · duezn · duzenn · duzne · duzzen · dzuen · udzen
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "dun" and "duzen" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "dun" vs "duzen" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "dun" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "duzen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #367,576 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "dun" and "duzen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "dun vs duran". 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 #367,576 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.