Which to use
“duele” is a verb and “duelo” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #2,878
- “duele” frequency rank
- #4,885
- “duelo” frequency rank
- 7763
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | duele | duelo |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Primera persona del singular (yo) del presente de subjuntivo de dolar. | Combate entre dos personas que ha sido previamente acordado entre los participantes, generalmente a consecuencia de una ofensa previa de uno de los contendientes. |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set duele and duelo apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
duele and duelo form a confusable pair in the Spanish index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They differ by a single letter - e in “duele” becomes o in “duelo” - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 7763, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
duele is recorded at frequency rank #2,878, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈd̪wele]. duelo is at rank #4,885, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈd̪welo].
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 7763, this pair ranks #307,003 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "duele" and "duelo" be used interchangeably?
Remembering duele vs duelo
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “duele”; for a noun, it's “duelo”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “duele” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable