Which to use
“dont” is a pronoun and “dou” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #119
- “dont” frequency rank
- #22,238
- “dou” frequency rank
- 22357
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | dont | dou |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | De qui ; de quoi ; duquel ; de laquelle ; desquels , desquelles. | Forme mutée de tou par adoucissement (t → d). |
Where the eye mixes dont and dou
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: dont is \dɔ̃\ while dou is \ˈdu:\. 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 noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 22357, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
dont is recorded at frequency rank #119, classified as apron, pronounced \dɔ̃\. dou is at rank #22,238, tagged as anoun, pronounced \ˈdu:\.
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 22357, this pair ranks #358,418 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of dont vs dou
Shared letters: do. Private to "dont": nt. Private to "dou": u.
"dont" · 4 letters · shape CVCC · "dou" · 3 letters · shape CVV
Known mistypes of this pair
- dont ← ddont · dnot · donnt · dontt · dotn · odnt
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "dont" and "dou" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "dont" or "dou"?
What to do next
You've compared "dont" and "dou". Here's where to go from here.
- Full dictionary entry for "dont" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "dou" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #358,418 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "dont" and "dou" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "DCI vs dou". 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
PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.