BadesvsBasisWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“Bades” and “Basis” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#38,619
“Bades” frequency rank
#1,345
“Basis” frequency rank
39964
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Bades Basis
Definition Genitiv Singular des Substantivs Bad Grundlage

Where the eye mixes Bades and Basis

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.

5 ch
Bades
5 ch
Basis

Look-alike desk: Bades vs Basis

A purely visual mix-up. Bades ([ˈbaːdəs]) and Basis ([ˈbaːzɪs]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 39964, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Bades is recorded at frequency rank #38,619, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈbaːdəs]. Basis is at rank #1,345, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈbaːzɪs].

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 39964, this pair ranks #1,521,915 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Bades vs Basis

Shared letters: abs. Private to "Bades": de. Private to "Basis": i.

"Bades" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC  ·  "Basis" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Badesabdes · baddes · badess · badse · baeds · bbades · bdaes
  • Basisabsis · baiss · basiss · bassi · bassis · bbasis · bsais

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "Bades" for "Basis" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈbaːdəs] versus [ˈbaːzɪs]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Bades" or "Basis"?
"Basis" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,345 in our German list, against #38,619 for "Bades". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Useful next steps

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Bades" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Basis" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,521,915 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Bades" and "Basis" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Bades vs bodies". 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 #1,521,915 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