due

[djuː]

/[djuː]/ adj

The verdict

“due” sits in 20 confusable pairs (corpus #19,191) as an adjective. The look-alike neighbours are the real trap.

#19,191
frequency rank, German
2,764
“D” headwords
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - fällig

Corpus desk

Index DE-due · due · German

due · rank #19,191 · 0 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #19,191
  • LEN-MID 3 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,764
  • PHOTO-FINISH dringende

Nearest frequency peer: dringende (-1 rank slots)

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Häufigkeitsnachbarn des Verwechslers „due“

Peers mit ähnlichem Corpus-Gewicht, getrennt von den Verwechslungspaaren unten

corpus weight

What this shows Balken platzieren „due“ gegen die nächsten gerankten deutschen Lemmata, kein Reprint der Verwechslungsdesk.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

due vs DW
0% similar
due vs dz
33% similar
due vs DV
0% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for due
PropertyValue
Headworddue
LanguageGerman
Part of speechAdjective
IPA[djuː]
Letters3
Frequency rank#19,191
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Corpus-Rang neben Verwechslern von „due“

Von links nach rechts: die wenigen Träger des Alltags, dann der lange Schwanz kaum gebrauchter Formen.dueliegt auf dieser Marke:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Die Achse ist logarithmisch: jeder Tick markiert etwa zehnfach geringere Häufigkeit. Peers derselben Seltenheitsbandbreite: „dringende“ (#19,190), „div“ (#19,189), „economic“ (#19,193). Unter 2,764 „D“-Lemmata liegt „due“ bei #19,191. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Easy to mix with look-alikes

The spelling risk for due is neighbouring look-alikes ("DW", "dz", …), not just typos; it is anadjective pronounced [djuː]. Frequency #19,191 among 2,764 “D” headwords. 2 recorded senses keep meaning in play.

Zero misspellings are on record for due in our index, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable German rules. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "DW", "dz", "DV", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

This entry carries no recorded etymology, so any spelling logic here comes from how the word's sounds map to letters, not a documented origin story. The correct German form is due, spelled D-U-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    fällig
  2. 2
    gebührend, gehörig, schuldig

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how due appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. The account is due on the 21st.
  2. He treated her with due respect.

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 German corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "due"?
"due" is spelled D-U-E. The IPA pronunciation is [djuː].
What does "due" mean?
As an adjective, "due" means: fällig
What words are commonly confused with "due"?
"due" is commonly confused with "DW", "dz", "DV". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "due"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "due" is [djuː]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "due" come from?
"due" is a German word. PlainSpell's reference spans five languages -- English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German -- with definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for each.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar German words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "due", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked German headwords with 3 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list