during
/ˈdjʊə.ɹɪŋ/
"during" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“during” is in the everyday core of English, ranked #181 in English word frequency and used as a preposition.
- #181
- frequency rank, English
- 6
- letters
- 9
- tracked misspellings
- 20
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - For all of a given time interval; throughout; in; pending.
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 | during |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Preposition |
| IPA | /ˈdjʊə.ɹɪŋ/ |
| Letters | 6 |
| Frequency rank | #181 |
| Misspellings tracked | 9 |
| Confusable pairs | 20 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “during” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for during is 6 letters long, classified as a preposition, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈdjʊə.ɹɪŋ/. Corpus data places it at rank #181 in overall English word frequency, putting it firmly in the everyday core of the language. Wiktionary records 2 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 9 likely wrong-spelling variants for during, with forms such as "dduring", "druing", and "duirng". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "dying", "dyeing", "dusting", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English during, durynge, durinde, durand, durende, present participle of duren (“to last”), equivalent to dure + -ing. Compare Dutch gedurende (“during”). More at dure. The correct English form is during, spelled D-U-R-I-N-G.
Definition
- 1For all of a given time interval; throughout; in; pending.
- 2At any time or period within a given time interval.
Etymology
From Middle English during, durynge, durinde, durand, durende, present participle of duren (“to last”), equivalent to dure + -ing. Compare Dutch gedurende (“during”). More at dure.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: dduring,druing,duirng,durign,duringg,durinng,durnig,durring,udring
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of during - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.
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 “during”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is D-U-R-I-N-G - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈdjʊə.ɹɪŋ/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “dying” - see the side-by-side comparison. during vs dying
- 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.