DanesvsdikesWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: Danes is a name, dikes is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“Danes” is a name and “dikes” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#22,341
“Danes” frequency rank
#49,870
“dikes” frequency rank
72211
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Danes dikes
Definition A surname. plural of dike

Where the spellings diverge

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

5 ch
Danes
5 ch
dikes

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: Danes is aname and dikesanoun. On the page they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 72211, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Danes is recorded at frequency rank #22,341, classified as aname, pronounced /deɪnz/. dikes is at rank #49,870, tagged as anoun.

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 72211, this pair ranks #43,838 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of Danes vs dikes

Shared letters: des. Private to "Danes": an. Private to "dikes": ik.

"Danes" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC  ·  "dikes" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Danesadnes · daens · daness · dannes · danse · ddanes · dnaes
  • dikesddikes · dieks · dikess · dikkes · dikse · dkies · idkes

Frequency comparison

Danes#22,341
dikes#49,870

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Danes" and "dikes" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "Danes" is a name and "dikes" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "Danes" or "dikes"?
"Danes" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #22,341 in our English list, against #49,870 for "dikes". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering Danes vs dikes

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a name, it's “Danes”; for a noun, it's “dikes”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “Danes” 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