deuxvsdueTell them apart

Which to use

“deux” and “due” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#71
“deux” frequency rank
#3,838
“due” frequency rank
3909
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature deux due
Definition Un plus un. Féminin singulier de dû.

Where the eye mixes deux and due

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.

4 ch
deux
3 ch
due

Look-alike desk: deux vs due

A purely visual mix-up. deux (\dø\) and due (\dy\) 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 3909, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

deux is recorded at frequency rank #71, classified as anadj, pronounced \dø\. due is at rank #3,838, tagged as anadj, 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 3909, this pair ranks #432,919 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of deux vs due

Shared letters: deu. Private to "deux": x. Private to "due": -.

"deux" · 4 letters · shape CVVC  ·  "due" · 3 letters · shape CVV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • deuxddeux · deuxx · dexu · duex · edux

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "deux" and "due" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\dø\ versus \dy\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "deux" vs "due" - which ranks higher?
"deux" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #71 in our French list, against #3,838 for "due". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Useful next steps

Eye-level mix-up between "deux" and "due" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "deux" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "due" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #432,919 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "deux" and "due" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "DCI vs due". 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 #432,919 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list