Which to use
“duda” is a noun and “duro” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #656
- “duda” frequency rank
- #1,341
- “duro” frequency rank
- 1997
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | duda | duro |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Acción o efecto de dudar. Dificultad para elegir entre dos o más opciones, o suspensión de tal decisión. | Dicho de un material o cosa, que no se puede deformar o rayar sin esfuerzo. |
Where the eye mixes duda and duro
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses duda with duro
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: duda is [ˈd̪uð̞a] 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 (noun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 1997, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
duda is recorded at frequency rank #656, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈd̪uð̞a]. 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 1997, this pair ranks #321,148 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of duda vs duro
Shared letters: du. Private to "duda": a. Private to "duro": or.
"duda" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "duro" · 4 letters · shape CVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "duda" and "duro" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "duda" or "duro"?
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 "duda" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "duro" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #321,148 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "duda" and "duro" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Deva vs duda". 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 #321,148 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.