Which to use
“deep” and “due” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #945
- “deep” frequency rank
- #442
- “due” frequency rank
- 1387
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | deep | due |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Extending, reaching or positioned far from a point of reference, especially downwards. | Owed or owing. |
Where the eye mixes deep and due
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between deep and due
A purely visual mix-up. deep (/diːp/) and due (/djuː/) 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 1387, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
deep is recorded at frequency rank #945, classified as anadj, pronounced /diːp/. due is at rank #442, tagged as anadj, pronounced /djuː/.
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 1387, this pair ranks #527,546 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of deep vs due
Shared letters: de. Private to "deep": p. Private to "due": u.
"deep" · 4 letters · shape CVVC · "due" · 3 letters · shape CVV
Known mistypes of this pair
- deep ← ddeep · deepp · depe · edep
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "deep" and "due" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "deep" vs "due" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "deep" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "due" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #527,546 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "deep" and "due" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "dox vs due". 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 #527,546 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.