Which to use
“deng” is a pronoun and “dun” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #42,277
- “deng” frequency rank
- #16,344
- “dun” frequency rank
- 58621
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | deng | dun |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Ta, la tienne. | Marron grisâtre #DAC8AE. |
Where the eye mixes deng and dun
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between deng and dun
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: deng is \dˈeŋ\ while dun is \dʌn\. 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 (pronoun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 58621, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
deng is recorded at frequency rank #42,277, classified as apron, pronounced \dˈeŋ\. dun is at rank #16,344, tagged as anadj, pronounced \dʌn\.
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 58621, this pair ranks #107,957 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of deng vs dun
Shared letters: dn. Private to "deng": eg. Private to "dun": u.
"deng" · 4 letters · shape CVCC · "dun" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- deng ← ddeng · degn · dengg · denng · dneg · edng
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "deng" for "dun" ever safe?
Frequency check: "deng" vs "dun" - 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 "deng" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "dun" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #107,957 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "deng" and "dun" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "deng vs denim". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #107,957 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.