dumavsdutyWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: duma is a verb, duty is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“duma” is a verb and “duty” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#39,714
“duma” frequency rank
#25,611
“duty” frequency rank
65325
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature duma duty
Definition Primera persona del singular (yo) del presente de subjuntivo de dumir. Deber, obligación.

Where the spellings diverge

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

4 ch
duma
4 ch
duty

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: duma is [ˈd̪uma] while duty is /ˈdjuː.ti/. 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 65325, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

duma is recorded at frequency rank #39,714, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈd̪uma]. 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 65325, this pair ranks #42,987 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of duma vs duty

Shared letters: du. Private to "duma": am. Private to "duty": ty.

"duma" · 4 letters · shape CVCV  ·  "duty" · 4 letters · shape CVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • dumadduma · dmua · duam · dumma · udma
  • dutydduty · dtuy · dutty · dutyy · duyt · udty

Frequency comparison

duma#39,714
duty#25,611

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "duma" and "duty" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "duma" is a verb and "duty" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "duma" or "duty"?
"duty" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #25,611 in our Spanish list, against #39,714 for "duma". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering duma vs duty

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “duma”; for a noun, it's “duty”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “duma” 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