dadvsdigWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#18,501
“dad” frequency rank
#35,991
“dig” frequency rank
54492
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature dad dig
Definition Segunda persona del plural (vosotros, vosotras) del imperativo afirmativo de dar. Cavar, escarbar.

Where the eye mixes dad and dig

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

3 ch
dad
3 ch
dig

Why the eye confuses dad with dig

A purely visual mix-up. dad ([ˈd̪að̞]) and dig (/dɪg/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 54492, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

dad is recorded at frequency rank #18,501, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈd̪að̞]. dig is at rank #35,991, tagged as averb, pronounced /dɪg/.

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 54492, this pair ranks #83,078 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of dad vs dig

Shared letters: d. Private to "dad": a. Private to "dig": gi.

"dad" · 3 letters · shape CVC  ·  "dig" · 3 letters · shape CVC

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "dad" and "dig" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈd̪að̞] versus /dɪg/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary Spanish text, does "dad" or "dig" show up more?
"dad" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #18,501 in our Spanish list, against #35,991 for "dig". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Eye-level mix-up between "dad" and "dig" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "dad" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "dig" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #83,078 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "dad" and "dig" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "dig vs divo". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #83,078 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list