Which to use
“duc” is a noun and “dur” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #36,966
- “duc” frequency rank
- #39,793
- “dur” frequency rank
- 76759
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | duc | dur |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | A French duke. | Major; in the major mode. |
Letter map: duc vs dur
Shared letters muted; letters that set duc and dur apart highlighted. Shared run: 2.
Grammar separator: duc vs dur
Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: duc is anoun and duranadjective. On the page they differ by a single letter - c in “duc” becomes r in “dur”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 76759, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
duc is recorded at frequency rank #36,966, classified as anoun. dur is at rank #39,793, tagged as anadj, pronounced /duːɹ/.
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 76759, this pair ranks #29,214 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of duc vs dur
Shared letters: du. Private to "duc": c. Private to "dur": r.
"duc" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "dur" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "duc" for "dur" ever safe?
Which is more common, "duc" or "dur"?
After this comparison
Done with this confusable. These links stay specific to "duc" and "dur".
- Full dictionary entry for "duc" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "dur" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #29,214 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "duc" and "dur" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "dox vs dur". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #29,214 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.