# dire vs due

> English confusable word pair

## The two words

### dire
*adjective · IPA /ˈdaɪ̯ə(ɹ)/ · frequency rank #11,874*
Warning of bad consequences: ill-boding; portentous.

### due
*adjective · IPA /djuː/ · frequency rank #442*
Owed or owing.

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-09-03.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/vs/dire-vs-due