dadvsdoyWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#18,501
“dad” frequency rank
#1,570
“doy” frequency rank
20071
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature dad doy
Definition Segunda persona del plural (vosotros, vosotras) del imperativo afirmativo de dar. Primera persona del singular (yo) del presente de indicativo de dar o de darse.

Where the eye mixes dad and doy

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

3 ch
dad
3 ch
doy

Why the eye confuses dad with doy

A purely visual mix-up. dad ([ˈd̪að̞]) and doy ([ˈd̪oj]) 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 20071, 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]. doy is at rank #1,570, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈd̪oj].

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 20071, this pair ranks #260,929 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of dad vs doy

Shared letters: d. Private to "dad": a. Private to "doy": oy.

"dad" · 3 letters · shape CVC  ·  "doy" · 3 letters · shape CVV

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "dad" for "doy" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈd̪að̞] versus [ˈd̪oj]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "dad" vs "doy" - which ranks higher?
"doy" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,570 in our Spanish list, against #18,501 for "dad". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

After this comparison

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "dad" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "doy" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #260,929 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "dad" and "doy" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "dad vs dade". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #260,929 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