dostvsdownWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: dost is a verb, down is an adverb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“dost” is a verb and “down” is an adverb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#31,957
“dost” frequency rank
#137
“down” frequency rank
32094
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature dost down
Definition second-person singular simple present indicative of do From a higher position to a lower one; downwards.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set dost and down apart are highlighted. They share 2 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch
dost
4 ch
down

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

dost and down 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 32094, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

dost is recorded at frequency rank #31,957, classified as averb, pronounced /dʌst/. down is at rank #137, tagged as anadv, pronounced /daʊn/.

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 32094, this pair ranks #340,662 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Frequency comparison

dost#31,957
down#137

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "dost" and "down" be used interchangeably?
No, "dost" and "down" 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 dost vs down

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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