Which to use
“Bade” is a name and “Bau” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #20,180
- “Bade” frequency rank
- #1,193
- “Bau” frequency rank
- 21373
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Bade | Bau |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | deutscher Familienname | Errichtung eines Hauses oder Bauwerkes |
Where the eye mixes Bade and Bau
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between Bade and Bau
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Bade is [ˈbaːdə] while Bau is [baʊ̯]. 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 (name vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 21373, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Bade is recorded at frequency rank #20,180, classified as aname, pronounced [ˈbaːdə]. Bau is at rank #1,193, tagged as anoun, pronounced [baʊ̯].
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 21373, this pair ranks #1,887,040 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of Bade vs Bau
Shared letters: ab. Private to "Bade": de. Private to "Bau": u.
"Bade" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "Bau" · 3 letters · shape CVV
Known mistypes of this pair
- Bade ← abde · badde · baed · bbade · bdae
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "Bade" for "Bau" ever safe?
Which is more common, "Bade" or "Bau"?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "Bade" and "Bau" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "Bade" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Bau" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,887,040 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Bade" and "Bau" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Bade vs bal". 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 #1,887,040 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.