docevsdoyTell them apart

Quick tell: doce is a num, doy is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“doce” is a num and “doy” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#2,825
“doce” frequency rank
#1,570
“doy” frequency rank
4395
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature doce doy
Definition Once y uno. Primera persona del singular (yo) del presente de indicativo de dar o de darse.

Where the eye mixes doce and doy

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.

4 ch
doce
3 ch
doy

Look-alike desk: doce vs doy

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: doce is [ˈd̪ose] while doy is [ˈd̪oj]. 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 (num vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 4395, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

doce is recorded at frequency rank #2,825, classified as anum, pronounced [ˈd̪ose]. 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 4395, this pair ranks #316,199 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of doce vs doy

Shared letters: do. Private to "doce": ce. Private to "doy": y.

"doce" · 4 letters · shape CVCV  ·  "doy" · 3 letters · shape CVV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • docedcoe · ddoce · docce · doec · dose · odce

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "doce" and "doy" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "doce" is a num and "doy" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "doce" or "doy"?
"doy" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,570 in our Spanish list, against #2,825 for "doce". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

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 "doce" 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 #316,199 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "doce" and "doy" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "doce 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 #316,199 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