Which to use
“duele” is a verb and “duque” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #2,878
- “duele” frequency rank
- #3,548
- “duque” frequency rank
- 6426
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | duele | duque |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Primera persona del singular (yo) del presente de subjuntivo de dolar. | Título nobiliario de mayor dignidad, entre la nobleza europea. |
Where the eye mixes duele and duque
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: duele vs duque
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: duele is [ˈd̪wele] while duque is [ˈd̪uke]. 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 noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 6426, 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]. duque is at rank #3,548, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈd̪uke].
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 6426, this pair ranks #310,828 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of duele vs duque
Shared letters: deu. Private to "duele": l. Private to "duque": q.
"duele" · 5 letters · shape CVVCV · "duque" · 5 letters · shape CVCVV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "duele" and "duque" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "duele" or "duque"?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "duele" and "duque" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "duele" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "duque" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #310,828 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "duele" and "duque" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "deli vs duele". 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 #310,828 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.