Which to use
“de” is a preposition and “dur” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #1
- “de” frequency rank
- #940
- “dur” frequency rank
- 941
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | de | dur |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Marque un ablatif. Mot indiquant la provenance, l’origine ^([note 1]). | Ferme ; difficile à pénétrer ou à entamer. |
Where the eye mixes de and dur
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: de is \də\ while dur is \dyʁ\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (preposition vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 941, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
de is recorded at frequency rank #1, classified as aprep, pronounced \də\. dur is at rank #940, tagged as anadj, pronounced \dyʁ\.
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 941, this pair ranks #438,880 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of de vs dur
Shared letters: d. Private to "de": e. Private to "dur": ru.
"de" · 2 letters · shape CV · "dur" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "de" and "dur" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "de" or "dur"?
What to do next
You've compared "de" and "dur". Here's where to go from here.
- Full dictionary entry for "de" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "dur" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #438,880 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "de" and "dur" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "DCI vs dur". Nearby pair
PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.