Which to use
“dan” and “do” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #4,065
- “dan” frequency rank
- #2,819
- “do” frequency rank
- 6884
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | dan | do |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Grade, degré de qualification dans la pratique d’un art martial, qui se traduit en général par le port d’une ceinture noire (contrairement aux grades kyu). | Première note de la gamme. |
Where the eye mixes dan and do
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.
Look-alike desk: dan vs do
A purely visual mix-up. dan (\dan\) and do (\do\) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 6884, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
dan is recorded at frequency rank #4,065, classified as anoun, pronounced \dan\. do is at rank #2,819, tagged as anoun, pronounced \do\.
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 6884, this pair ranks #424,932 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of dan vs do
Shared letters: d. Private to "dan": an. Private to "do": o.
"dan" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "do" · 2 letters · shape CV
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "dan" and "do" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "dan" vs "do" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "dan" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "do" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #424,932 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "dan" and "do" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "dan vs dray". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #424,932 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.