duasvsdueWhich spelling fits?

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

Which to use

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

#188
“duas” frequency rank
#24,954
“due” frequency rank
25142
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature duas due
Definition feminino de dois/dous; representado pelo símbolo 2 (algarismos indo-arábicos) ou II (algarismos romanos) devido

Where the eye mixes duas and due

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

4 ch
duas
3 ch
due

Why the eye confuses duas with due

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: duas is /ˈdu.ɐʃ/ 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 (num vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 25142, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

duas is recorded at frequency rank #188, classified as anum, pronounced /ˈdu.ɐʃ/. 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 25142, this pair ranks #44,242 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of duas vs due

Shared letters: du. Private to "duas": as. Private to "due": e.

"duas" · 4 letters · shape CVVC  ·  "due" · 3 letters · shape CVV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • duasdaus · dduas · duass · dusa · udas

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "duas" and "due" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "duas" is a num and "due" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "duas" or "due"?
"duas" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #188 in our Portuguese list, against #24,954 for "due". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

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 "duas" 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 #44,242 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "duas" 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 #44,242 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