Which to use
“dey” and “do” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #38,244
- “dey” frequency rank
- #2,819
- “do” frequency rank
- 41063
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | dey | do |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Chef militaire ottoman, vassal du bey. | Première note de la gamme. |
Where the eye mixes dey and do
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.
Visual trap between dey and do
A purely visual mix-up. dey (\dɛ\) and do (\do\) 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 41063, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
dey is recorded at frequency rank #38,244, classified as anoun, pronounced \dɛ\. 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 41063, this pair ranks #235,801 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of dey vs do
Shared letters: d. Private to "dey": ey. Private to "do": o.
"dey" · 3 letters · shape CVV · "do" · 2 letters · shape CV
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "dey" for "do" ever safe?
In ordinary French text, does "dey" or "do" show up more?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "dey" 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 #235,801 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "dey" and "do" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "dey vs dray". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #235,801 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.