Which to use
“dur” and “dy” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #940
- “dur” frequency rank
- #45,564
- “dy” frequency rank
- 46504
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | dur | dy |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Ferme ; difficile à pénétrer ou à entamer. | Deux. |
Where the eye mixes dur and dy
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.
Visual trap between dur and dy
A purely visual mix-up. dur (\dyʁ\) and dy (\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 46504, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
dur is recorded at frequency rank #940, classified as anadj, pronounced \dyʁ\. dy is at rank #45,564, 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 46504, this pair ranks #194,395 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of dur vs dy
Shared letters: d. Private to "dur": ru. Private to "dy": y.
"dur" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "dy" · 2 letters · shape CV
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "dur" for "dy" ever safe?
Frequency check: "dur" vs "dy" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "dur" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "dy" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #194,395 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "dur" and "dy" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "dray vs dy". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #194,395 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.