Which to use
“deo” is an adverb and “du” is an article - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #33,636
- “deo” frequency rank
- #17
- “du” frequency rank
- 33653
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | deo | du |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Si. | Une quantité indéfinie de. Note d’usage : Utilisé avec un nom indénombrable. |
Where the eye mixes deo and du
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.
Look-alike desk: deo vs du
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: deo is \ˈdɛw\ while du is \dy\. 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 (adverb vs article), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 33653, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
deo is recorded at frequency rank #33,636, classified as anadv, pronounced \ˈdɛw\. du is at rank #17, tagged as anarticle, pronounced \dy\.
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 33653, this pair ranks #289,193 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of deo vs du
Shared letters: d. Private to "deo": eo. Private to "du": u.
"deo" · 3 letters · shape CVV · "du" · 2 letters · shape CV
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "deo" for "du" ever safe?
Which is more common, "deo" or "du"?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "deo" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "du" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #289,193 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "deo" and "du" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "DCI vs deo". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #289,193 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.