dukevsdutyWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“duke” and “duty” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#17,119
“duke” frequency rank
#25,611
“duty” frequency rank
42730
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature duke duty
Definition Duque. Deber, obligación.

Where the spellings diverge

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

4 ch
duke
4 ch
duty

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. duke (/djuːk/) and duty (/ˈdjuː.ti/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 42730, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

duke is recorded at frequency rank #17,119, classified as anoun, pronounced /djuːk/. duty is at rank #25,611, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈdjuː.ti/.

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 42730, this pair ranks #146,610 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of duke vs duty

Shared letters: du. Private to "duke": ek. Private to "duty": ty.

"duke" · 4 letters · shape CVCV  ·  "duty" · 4 letters · shape CVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • dukedduke · dkue · duek · dukke · udke
  • dutydduty · dtuy · dutty · dutyy · duyt · udty

Frequency comparison

duke#17,119
duty#25,611

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "duke" and "duty" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (/djuːk/ versus /ˈdjuː.ti/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "duke" or "duty"?
"duke" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #17,119 in our Spanish list, against #25,611 for "duty". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering duke vs duty

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “duke” 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