divvsdueWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: div is a noun, due is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“div” is a noun and “due” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#17,822
“div” frequency rank
#442
“due” frequency rank
18264
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature div due
Definition A function, implemented in many programming languages, that returns the result of a division of two integers. Owed or owing.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set div and due apart are highlighted. They share 1 letter in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

3 ch
div
3 ch
due

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

div and due form a confusable pair in the English index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 18264, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

div is recorded at frequency rank #17,822, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈdɪv/. 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 18264, this pair ranks #446,043 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Frequency comparison

div#17,822
due#442

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "div" and "due" be used interchangeably?
No, "div" and "due" have distinct meanings and cannot be swapped without changing the meaning of a sentence. Understanding the specific definition and context for each word is essential for correct usage.

Remembering div vs due

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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