Which to use
“dob” is a verb and “dun” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #44,170
- “dob” frequency rank
- #18,810
- “dun” frequency rank
- 62980
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | dob | dun |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | To report a person to someone in authority for a wrongdoing. (For transitive forms see dob in, dob on.) | A brownish grey colour. |
Where the eye mixes dob and dun
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.
Why the eye confuses dob with dun
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: dob is /dɑb/ while dun is /dʌn/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 62980, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
dob is recorded at frequency rank #44,170, classified as averb, pronounced /dɑb/. dun is at rank #18,810, tagged as anoun, pronounced /dʌn/.
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 62980, this pair ranks #85,505 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of dob vs dun
Shared letters: d. Private to "dob": bo. Private to "dun": nu.
"dob" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "dun" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "dob" and "dun" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "dob" vs "dun" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "dob" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "dun" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #85,505 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "dob" and "dun" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "dob vs dox". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #85,505 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.