dotevsdutyWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#20,580
“dote” frequency rank
#24,304
“duty” frequency rank
44884
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature dote duty
Definition bens próprios e exclusivos da mulher casada dever; obrigação

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set dote and duty apart are highlighted. They share 2 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch
dote
4 ch
duty

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. dote (/ˈdɔ.tɨ/) and duty (/ˈdjuːti/ (UK); /duːti/ (US)) 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 44884, 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/. duty is at rank #24,304, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈdjuːti/ (UK); /duːti/ (US).

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 44884, this pair ranks #20,548 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of dote vs duty

Shared letters: dt. Private to "dote": eo. Private to "duty": uy.

"dote" · 4 letters · shape CVCV  ·  "duty" · 4 letters · shape CVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • doteddote · doet · dotte · dtoe · odte
  • dutydduty · dtuy · dutty · dutyy · duyt · udty

Frequency comparison

dote#20,580
duty#24,304

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "dote" and "duty" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (/ˈdɔ.tɨ/ versus /ˈdjuːti/ (UK); /duːti/ (US)) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "dote" or "duty"?
"dote" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #20,580 in our Portuguese list, against #24,304 for "duty". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering dote vs duty

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 “dote” 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