Which to use
“Bahn” is a noun and “bahnt” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #774
- “Bahn” frequency rank
- #36,212
- “bahnt” frequency rank
- 36986
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Bahn | bahnt |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Strecke, die von einem Körper in einer vorgeschriebenen Richtung durchmessen wird | 3. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs bahnen |
Where the eye mixes Bahn and bahnt
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: Bahn vs bahnt
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Bahn is [baːn] while bahnt is [baːnt]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “Bahn” sits inside “bahnt”, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 36986, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Bahn is recorded at frequency rank #774, classified as anoun, pronounced [baːn]. bahnt is at rank #36,212, tagged as averb, pronounced [baːnt].
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 36986, this pair ranks #1,601,685 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of Bahn vs bahnt
Shared letters: abhn. Private to "Bahn": -. Private to "bahnt": t.
"Bahn" · 4 letters · shape CVCC · "bahnt" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "Bahn" for "bahnt" ever safe?
Which is more common, "Bahn" or "bahnt"?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "Bahn" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "bahnt" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,601,685 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Bahn" and "bahnt" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "bahnt vs bain". 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 #1,601,685 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.