BabelvsbatesWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: Babel is a noun, bates is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“Babel” is a noun and “bates” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#38,618
“Babel” frequency rank
#34,536
“bates” frequency rank
73154
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Babel bates
Definition hebräischer Name für Babylon 3. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs bate

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set Babel and bates apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
Babel
5 ch
bates

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: Babel is anoun and batesaverb. On the page they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 73154, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Babel is recorded at frequency rank #38,618, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈbaːbl̩]. bates is at rank #34,536, tagged as averb, pronounced […].

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 73154, this pair ranks #368,260 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of Babel vs bates

Shared letters: abe. Private to "Babel": l. Private to "bates": st.

"Babel" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC  ·  "bates" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Babelbabbel · babell · bable · baebl · bbabel · bbael
  • batesbatess · batse · battes · bbates · btaes

Frequency comparison

Babel#38,618
bates#34,536

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Babel" and "bates" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "Babel" is a noun and "bates" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "Babel" or "bates"?
"bates" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #34,536 in our German list, against #38,618 for "Babel". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering Babel vs bates

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “Babel”; for a verb, it's “bates”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “Babel” 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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list