Which to use
“doux” and “dun” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #2,316
- “doux” frequency rank
- #16,344
- “dun” frequency rank
- 18660
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | doux | dun |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Agréable au toucher. | Marron grisâtre #DAC8AE. |
Where the eye mixes doux and dun
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: doux vs dun
A purely visual mix-up. doux (\du\) and dun (\dʌn\) 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 18660, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
doux is recorded at frequency rank #2,316, classified as anadj, pronounced \du\. 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 18660, this pair ranks #377,164 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of doux vs dun
Shared letters: du. Private to "doux": ox. Private to "dun": n.
"doux" · 4 letters · shape CVVC · "dun" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- doux ← ddoux · douxx · doxu · duox · odux
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "doux" for "dun" ever safe?
Which is more common, "doux" or "dun"?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "doux" 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 #377,164 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "doux" and "dun" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "drunk vs dun". 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 #377,164 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.