Which to use
“dam” and “dun” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #34,654
- “dam” frequency rank
- #45,320
- “dun” frequency rank
- 79974
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | dam | dun |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | senhora | penugem imatura em pássaros jovens |
Where the eye mixes dam and dun
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence. dam and dun follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Why the eye confuses dam with dun
A purely visual mix-up. dam (/dɑːm/ ouvir^(fonte ?)) and dun (/duːn/, [d̥uːˀn]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 79974, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
dam is recorded at frequency rank #34,654, classified as anoun, pronounced /dɑːm/ ouvir^(fonte ?). dun is at rank #45,320, tagged as anoun, pronounced /duːn/, [d̥uːˀn].
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 79974, this pair ranks #1,406 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of dam vs dun
Shared letters: d. Private to "dam": am. Private to "dun": nu.
"dam" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "dun" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "dam" and "dun" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "dam" or "dun"?
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 "dam" 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 #1,406 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "dam" and "dun" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "dat vs dun". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #1,406 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.