Which to use
“dos” is a num and “du” is a pronoun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #24
- “dos” frequency rank
- #5,187
- “du” frequency rank
- 5211
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | dos | du |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | o número dois | você, tu |
Where the eye mixes dos and du
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.
Visual trap between dos and du
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: dos is /dɔs/ while du is /du:/ ouvir^(fonte ?). Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (num vs pronoun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 5211, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
dos is recorded at frequency rank #24, classified as anum, pronounced /dɔs/. du is at rank #5,187, tagged as apron, pronounced /du:/ ouvir^(fonte ?).
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 5211, this pair ranks #69,460 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of dos vs du
Shared letters: d. Private to "dos": os. Private to "du": u.
"dos" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "du" · 2 letters · shape CV
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "dos" and "du" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary Portuguese text, does "dos" or "du" show up more?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "dos" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "du" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #69,460 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "dos" and "du" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "dat vs du". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #69,460 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.