Which to use
“data” and “duty” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #455
- “data” frequency rank
- #1,994
- “duty” frequency rank
- 2449
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | data | duty |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | plural of datum | That which one is morally or legally obligated to do. |
Where the eye mixes data and duty
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: data vs duty
A purely visual mix-up. data (/ˈdɑː.tə/) and duty (/ˈdjuː.ti/) 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 2449, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
data is recorded at frequency rank #455, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈdɑː.tə/. duty is at rank #1,994, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈdjuː.ti/.
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 2449, this pair ranks #524,950 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of data vs duty
Shared letters: dt. Private to "data": a. Private to "duty": uy.
"data" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "duty" · 4 letters · shape CVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "data" and "duty" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "data" or "duty"?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "data" and "duty" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "data" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "duty" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #524,950 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "data" and "duty" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Dalia vs data". 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 #524,950 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.