Which to use
“det” is a pronoun and “does” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #35,459
- “det” frequency rank
- #31,750
- “does” frequency rank
- 67209
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | det | does |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Él, ella, ello. Caso nominativo, acusativo y dativo del pronombre personal de tercera persona singular de género neutro. | Tercera persona del singular (he, she, it) del presente simple del verbo (to) do. |
Where the eye mixes det and does
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence. det runs 3 letters (CVC) against does's 4 (CVVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between det and does
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: det is [də(t)] while does is /ˈdʌz/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (pronoun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 67209, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
det is recorded at frequency rank #35,459, classified as apron, pronounced [də(t)]. does is at rank #31,750, tagged as averb, pronounced /ˈdʌz/.
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 67209, this pair ranks #37,753 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of det vs does
Shared letters: de. Private to "det": t. Private to "does": os.
"det" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "does" · 4 letters · shape CVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- does ← ddoes · deos · doess · odes
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "det" and "does" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary Spanish text, does "det" or "does" show up more?
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 "det" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "does" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #37,753 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "det" and "does" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "det vs dont". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #37,753 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.