Which to use
“due” and “dur” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #442
- “due” frequency rank
- #39,793
- “dur” frequency rank
- 40235
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | due | dur |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Owed or owing. | Major; in the major mode. |
Where the eye mixes due and dur
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses due with dur
A purely visual mix-up. due (/djuː/) and dur (/duːɹ/) 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 a single letter - e in “due” becomes r in “dur”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 40235, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
due is recorded at frequency rank #442, classified as anadj, pronounced /djuː/. 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 40235, this pair ranks #269,402 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of due vs dur
Shared letters: du. Private to "due": e. Private to "dur": r.
"due" · 3 letters · shape CVV · "dur" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "due" and "dur" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "due" or "dur"?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "due" 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 #269,402 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "due" and "dur" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "dox vs dur". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #269,402 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.