deedsvsdensConfusable pair

Which to use

“deeds” and “dens” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#9,731
“deeds” frequency rank
#34,854
“dens” frequency rank
44585
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature deeds dens
Definition plural of deed plural of den

Where the eye mixes deeds and dens

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.

5 ch
deeds
4 ch
dens

Why the eye confuses deeds with dens

A purely visual mix-up. deeds (/diːdz/) and dens (/dɛnz/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 44585, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

deeds is recorded at frequency rank #9,731, classified as anoun, pronounced /diːdz/. dens is at rank #34,854, tagged as anoun, pronounced /dɛnz/.

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 44585, this pair ranks #229,181 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of deeds vs dens

Shared letters: des. Private to "deeds": -. Private to "dens": n.

"deeds" · 5 letters · shape CVVCC  ·  "dens" · 4 letters · shape CVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • deedsddeeds · dedes · deds · deedds · deedss · deesd · ededs
  • densddens · denns · denss · desn · dnes

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "deeds" and "dens" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (/diːdz/ versus /dɛnz/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "deeds" or "dens"?
"deeds" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #9,731 in our English list, against #34,854 for "dens". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "deeds" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "dens" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #229,181 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "deeds" and "dens" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "dens vs DNP". 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 #229,181 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list