Which to use
“duda” is a noun and “dudar” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #656
- “duda” frequency rank
- #7,711
- “dudar” frequency rank
- 8367
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | duda | dudar |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Acción o efecto de dudar. Dificultad para elegir entre dos o más opciones, o suspensión de tal decisión. | Estar indeciso entre dos o más opciones, no estar seguro de qué hacer. |
Where the eye mixes duda and dudar
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses duda with dudar
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: duda is [ˈd̪uð̞a] while dudar is [d̪uˈð̞aɾ]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “duda” sits inside “dudar”, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 8367, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
duda is recorded at frequency rank #656, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈd̪uð̞a]. dudar is at rank #7,711, tagged as averb, pronounced [d̪uˈð̞aɾ].
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 8367, this pair ranks #305,196 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of duda vs dudar
Shared letters: adu. Private to "duda": -. Private to "dudar": r.
"duda" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "dudar" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "duda" and "dudar" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "duda" vs "dudar" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "duda" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "dudar" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #305,196 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "duda" and "dudar" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "dudar vs dudaría". 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 #305,196 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.