Which to use
“den” is an article and “do” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #9,639
- “den” frequency rank
- #2,819
- “do” frequency rank
- 12458
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | den | do |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Accusatif masculin singulier de der. | Première note de la gamme. |
Where the eye mixes den and do
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.
Look-alike desk: den vs do
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: den is \deːn\ while do is \do\. 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 (article vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 12458, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
den is recorded at frequency rank #9,639, classified as anarticle, pronounced \deːn\. 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 12458, this pair ranks #405,193 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of den vs do
Shared letters: d. Private to "den": en. Private to "do": o.
"den" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "do" · 2 letters · shape CV
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "den" for "do" ever safe?
Frequency check: "den" vs "do" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "den" 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 #405,193 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "den" and "do" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "den vs denim". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #405,193 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.