dogvsdunWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“dog” and “dun” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#8,326
“dog” frequency rank
#45,320
“dun” frequency rank
53646
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature dog dun
Definition cão, cachorro penugem imatura em pássaros jovens

Where the spellings diverge

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

3 ch
dog
3 ch
dun

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. dog (/dɔɡ/) 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 53646, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

dog is recorded at frequency rank #8,326, classified as anoun, pronounced /dɔɡ/. 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 53646, this pair ranks #11,884 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of dog vs dun

Shared letters: d. Private to "dog": go. Private to "dun": nu.

"dog" · 3 letters · shape CVC  ·  "dun" · 3 letters · shape CVC

Frequency comparison

dog#8,326
dun#45,320

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "dog" and "dun" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (/dɔɡ/ versus /duːn/, [d̥uːˀn]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "dog" or "dun"?
"dog" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #8,326 in our Portuguese list, against #45,320 for "dun". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering dog vs dun

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “dog” 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