Which to use
“dug” is a verb and “duh” is an intj - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #8,784
- “dug” frequency rank
- #12,961
- “duh” frequency rank
- 21745
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | dug | duh |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | simple past and past participle of dig (replacing earlier digged) | A disdainful indication that something is obvious. |
Where the eye mixes dug and duh
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses dug with duh
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: dug is /dʌɡ/ while duh is /dɜː/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - g in “dug” becomes h in “duh”, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs intj), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 21745, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
dug is recorded at frequency rank #8,784, classified as averb, pronounced /dʌɡ/. duh is at rank #12,961, tagged as anintj, pronounced /dɜː/.
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 21745, this pair ranks #421,662 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of dug vs duh
Shared letters: du. Private to "dug": g. Private to "duh": h.
"dug" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "duh" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "dug" and "duh" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary English text, does "dug" or "duh" show up more?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "dug" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "duh" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #421,662 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "dug" and "duh" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "dox vs duh". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #421,662 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.