duas vs dun, What's the Difference?

Which to use

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

#188
“duas” frequency rank: #45,320
“dun” frequency rank: 45508
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	duas	dun
Definition	feminino de dois/dous; representado pelo símbolo 2 (algarismos indo-arábicos) ou II (algarismos romanos)	penugem imatura em pássaros jovens

Where the spellings diverge

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

4 ch

duas

3 ch

dun

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: duas is /ˈdu.ɐʃ/ while dun is /duːn/, [d̥uːˀn]. 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 noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 45508, 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/. dun is at rank #45,320, tagged as anoun, pronounced /duːn/, [d̥uːˀn].

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 45508, this pair ranks #19,880 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of duas vs dun

Shared letters: du. Private to "duas": as. Private to "dun": n.

"duas" · 4 letters · shape CVVC · "dun" · 3 letters · shape CVC

Known mistypes of this pair

duas ← daus · dduas · duass · dusa · udas

Frequency comparison

duas#188

dun#45,320

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "duas" and "dun" be used interchangeably?

No - they are not even the same part of speech. "duas" is a num and "dun" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.

Which is more common, "duas" or "dun"?

"duas" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #188 in our Portuguese list, against #45,320 for "dun". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering duas vs dun

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

Check the role first: if you need a num, it's “duas”; for a noun, it's “dun”.
See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “duas” entry
Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable