Which to use
“doh” and “dough” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #31,141
- “doh” frequency rank
- #8,783
- “dough” frequency rank
- 39924
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | doh | dough |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | A syllable used in solfège to represent the first and eighth tonic of a major scale. | A thick, malleable substance made by mixing flour with other ingredients such as water, eggs, or butter, that is made into a particular form and then baked. |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set doh and dough apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
A purely visual mix-up. doh (/doʊ/) and dough (/dəʊ/) 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 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 39924, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
doh is recorded at frequency rank #31,141, classified as anoun, pronounced /doʊ/. dough is at rank #8,783, tagged as anoun, pronounced /dəʊ/.
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 39924, this pair ranks #272,273 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of doh vs dough
Shared letters: dho. Private to "doh": -. Private to "dough": gu.
"doh" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "dough" · 5 letters · shape CVVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
- dough ← ddough · doguh · douggh · doughh · douhg · duogh · odugh
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "doh" and "dough" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "doh" or "dough"?
Remembering doh vs dough
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “doh” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable