da vs doi, What's the Difference?

Which to use

“da” and “doi” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#211
“da” frequency rank: #39,709
“doi” frequency rank: 39920
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	da	doi
Definition	Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de dar o de darse.	Primera persona del singular del presente de indicativo de dar.

Where the eye mixes da and doi

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.

2 ch

3 ch

doi

Why the eye confuses da with doi

A purely visual mix-up. da ([ˈd̪a]) and doi ([ˈdoj]) 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 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 39920, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

da is recorded at frequency rank #211, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈd̪a]. doi is at rank #39,709, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈdoj].

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 39920, this pair ranks #161,928 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of da vs doi

Shared letters: d. Private to "da": a. Private to "doi": io.

"da" · 2 letters · shape CV · "doi" · 3 letters · shape CVV

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "da" for "doi" ever safe?

No. They are said differently ([ˈd̪a] versus [ˈdoj]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.

Which is more common, "da" or "doi"?

"da" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #211 in our Spanish list, against #39,709 for "doi". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

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 "da" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
Full dictionary entry for "doi" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
This pair ranks #161,928 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
"da" and "doi" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "doi vs dont". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #161,928 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.