dotevsdueTell them apart

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

Which to use

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

#20,580
“dote” frequency rank
#24,954
“due” frequency rank
45534
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature dote due
Definition bens próprios e exclusivos da mulher casada devido

Where the eye mixes dote and due

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.

4 ch
dote
3 ch
due

Why the eye confuses dote with due

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: dote is /ˈdɔ.tɨ/ while due is /dju/. 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 (noun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 45534, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

dote is recorded at frequency rank #20,580, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈdɔ.tɨ/. 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 45534, this pair ranks #19,850 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of dote vs due

Shared letters: de. Private to "dote": ot. Private to "due": u.

"dote" · 4 letters · shape CVCV  ·  "due" · 3 letters · shape CVV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • doteddote · doet · dotte · dtoe · odte

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "dote" and "due" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "dote" is a noun and "due" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
In ordinary Portuguese text, does "dote" or "due" show up more?
"dote" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #20,580 in our Portuguese list, against #24,954 for "due". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "dote" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "due" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #19,850 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "dote" and "due" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "dat vs due". 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 #19,850 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list