dime vs dove, What's the Difference?

Which to use

“dime” is a verb and “dove” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#2,979
“dime” frequency rank: #41,875
“dove” frequency rank: 44854
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	dime	dove
Definition	Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de dimir.	Paloma.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set dime and dove apart are highlighted. They share 2 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch

dime

4 ch

dove

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: dime is [ˈd̪ime] while dove is /dʌv/. 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 noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 44854, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

dime is recorded at frequency rank #2,979, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈd̪ime]. dove is at rank #41,875, tagged as anoun, pronounced /dʌv/.

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 44854, this pair ranks #134,756 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of dime vs dove

Shared letters: de. Private to "dime": im. Private to "dove": ov.

"dime" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "dove" · 4 letters · shape CVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

dime ← ddime · diem · dimme · dmie · idme
dove ← ddove · dobe · doev · dovve · dvoe · odve

Frequency comparison

dime#2,979

dove#41,875

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "dime" and "dove" be used interchangeably?

No - they are not even the same part of speech. "dime" is a verb and "dove" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.

Which is more common, "dime" or "dove"?

"dime" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,979 in our Spanish list, against #41,875 for "dove". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering dime vs dove

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “dime”; for a noun, it's “dove”.
See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “dime” entry
Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable