donovsduroWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: dono is a verb, duro is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“dono” is a verb and “duro” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#41,874
“dono” frequency rank
#1,341
“duro” frequency rank
43215
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature dono duro
Definition Primera persona del singular (yo) del presente de indicativo de donar. Dicho de un material o cosa, que no se puede deformar o rayar sin esfuerzo.

Where the spellings diverge

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

4 ch
dono
4 ch
duro

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: dono is [ˈd̪ono] while duro is [ˈd̪uɾo]. 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 adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 43215, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

dono is recorded at frequency rank #41,874, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈd̪ono]. duro is at rank #1,341, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈd̪uɾo].

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 43215, this pair ranks #143,912 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of dono vs duro

Shared letters: do. Private to "dono": n. Private to "duro": ru.

"dono" · 4 letters · shape CVCV  ·  "duro" · 4 letters · shape CVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • donoddono · dnoo · donno · doon · odno
  • durodduro · druo · duor · durro · udro

Frequency comparison

dono#41,874
duro#1,341

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "dono" and "duro" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "dono" is a verb and "duro" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "dono" or "duro"?
"duro" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,341 in our Spanish list, against #41,874 for "dono". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering dono vs duro

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list