Which to use
“done” is a verb and “dote” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #23,299
- “done” frequency rank
- #20,580
- “dote” frequency rank
- 43879
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | done | dote |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | particípio do verbo do | bens próprios e exclusivos da mulher casada |
Where the eye mixes done and dote
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between done and dote
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: done is /dʌn/; /dɐn/; /dʊn/ while dote is /ˈdɔ.tɨ/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - n in “done” becomes t in “dote”, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 43879, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
done is recorded at frequency rank #23,299, classified as averb, pronounced /dʌn/; /dɐn/; /dʊn/. dote is at rank #20,580, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈdɔ.tɨ/.
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 43879, this pair ranks #21,693 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of done vs dote
Shared letters: deo. Private to "done": n. Private to "dote": t.
"done" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "dote" · 4 letters · shape CVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "done" and "dote" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "done" vs "dote" - which ranks higher?
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 "done" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "dote" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #21,693 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "done" and "dote" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "dodo vs done". 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 #21,693 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.