BackevsBAKConfusable pair

Quick tell: Backe is a noun, BAK is an abbrev, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“Backe” is a noun and “BAK” is an abbrev - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#18,815
“Backe” frequency rank
#37,980
“BAK” frequency rank
56795
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Backe BAK
Definition einer der zwei Zwischenräume im Mund zwischen seitlichen Zähnen und der Schleimhaut außerhalb der Zähne (leer oder gefüllt) Abkürzung für Blutalkoholkonzentration

Letter map: Backe vs BAK

Shared letters muted; letters that set Backe and BAK apart highlighted. Shared run: 3. Backe runs 5 letters (CVCCV) against BAK's 3 (CVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

5 ch
Backe
3 ch
BAK

Part-of-speech tell for Backe / BAK

Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: Backe is anoun and BAKanabbrev. On the page they differ by 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 56795, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Backe is recorded at frequency rank #18,815, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈbakə]. BAK is at rank #37,980, tagged as anabbrev, 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 56795, this pair ranks #926,310 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Backe vs BAK

Shared letters: abk. Private to "Backe": ce. Private to "BAK": -.

"Backe" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV  ·  "BAK" · 3 letters · shape CVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Backe ← abcke · baccke · bacek · backke · bakce · bbacke · bcake

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Backe" and "BAK" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "Backe" is a noun and "BAK" an abbrev, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
In ordinary German text, does "Backe" or "BAK" show up more?
"Backe" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #18,815 in our German list, against #37,980 for "BAK". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Done with this confusable. These links stay specific to "Backe" and "BAK".

  • Full dictionary entry for "Backe" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "BAK" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #926,310 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Backe" and "BAK" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "BAK vs puzzles". 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 #926,310 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list