duh
/dɜː/
"duh" is a 3-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“duh” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #12,961 in English word frequency and used as an interjection.
- #12,961
- frequency rank, English
- 3
- letters
- 20
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A disdainful indication that something is obvious.
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | duh |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Interjection |
| IPA | /dɜː/ |
| Letters | 3 |
| Frequency rank | #12,961 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 20 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “duh” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for duh is 3 letters long, classified as an interjection, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /dɜː/. Corpus data places it at rank #12,961 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 3 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
duh doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, a sign its spelling follows regular English conventions. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "dw", "Dx", "DV", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.
Etymologically, the entry records: Imitative, indicating stupidity by mocking the speech of an intellectually disabled person. The correct English form is duh, spelled D-U-H.
Definition
- 1A disdainful indication that something is obvious.
- 2An indication of mock stupidity.
- 3A nonsensical utterance by an individual about to go unconscious, especially if they're dizzy.
Etymology
Imitative, indicating stupidity by mocking the speech of an intellectually disabled person.
This word in other languages
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Using “duh”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is D-U-H - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /dɜː/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “dw” - see the side-by-side comparison. duh vs dw
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.