Which to use
“do's” is a noun and “don't” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #39,780
- “do's” frequency rank
- #68
- “don't” frequency rank
- 39848
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | do's | don't |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Alternative form of dos (plural of do) | do not (negative auxiliary). |
Letter map: do's vs don't
Shared letters muted; letters that set do's and don't apart highlighted. Shared run: 3.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: do's is anoun and don'taverb. On the page they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 39848, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
do's is recorded at frequency rank #39,780, classified as anoun. don't is at rank #68, tagged as averb, pronounced /dəʊnt/.
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 39848, this pair ranks #272,960 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of do's vs don't
Shared letters: do. Private to "do's": s. Private to "don't": nt.
"do's" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "don't" · 4 letters · shape CVCC