Which to use
“dig” is a verb and “dre” is a preposition - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #35,991
- “dig” frequency rank
- #33,559
- “dre” frequency rank
- 69550
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | dig | dre |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Cavar, escarbar. | Por |
Where the eye mixes dig and dre
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.
Why the eye confuses dig with dre
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: dig is /dɪg/ while dre is /ˈdreː/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs preposition), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 69550, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
dig is recorded at frequency rank #35,991, classified as averb, pronounced /dɪg/. dre is at rank #33,559, tagged as aprep, pronounced /ˈdreː/.
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 69550, this pair ranks #31,749 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of dig vs dre
Shared letters: d. Private to "dig": gi. Private to "dre": er.
"dig" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "dre" · 3 letters · shape CCV
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "dig" for "dre" ever safe?
Which is more common, "dig" or "dre"?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "dig" and "dre" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "dig" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "dre" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #31,749 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "dig" and "dre" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "dig vs divo". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #31,749 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.