dovsdueWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: do is a contraction, due is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“do” is a contraction and “due” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#6
“do” frequency rank
#24,954
“due” frequency rank
24960
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature do due
Definition contração da preposição de com o artigo definido o devido

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set do and due apart are highlighted. They share 1 letter in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

2 ch
do
3 ch
due

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

do and due form a confusable pair in the Portuguese index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They differ by 1 letter(s) in length - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 24960, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

do is recorded at frequency rank #6, classified as acontraction, pronounced /du/ (/do/, se enfático). due is at rank #24,954, tagged as anadj, pronounced /dju/.

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 24960, this pair ranks #44,479 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Frequency comparison

do#6
due#24,954

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "do" and "due" be used interchangeably?
No, "do" and "due" have distinct meanings and cannot be swapped without changing the meaning of a sentence. Understanding the specific definition and context for each word is essential for correct usage.

Remembering do vs due

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a contraction, it's “do”; for an adjective, it's “due”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “do” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list