BahnvsBankWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#774
“Bahn” frequency rank
#1,050
“Bank” frequency rank
1824
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Bahn Bank
Definition Strecke, die von einem Körper in einer vorgeschriebenen Richtung durchmessen wird Sitz- oder Ablagegelegenheit für mehrere Personen oder Dinge nebeneinander

Where the eye mixes Bahn and Bank

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

4 ch
Bahn
4 ch
Bank

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. Bahn ([baːn]) and Bank ([baŋk]) 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 1824, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Bahn is recorded at frequency rank #774, classified as anoun, pronounced [baːn]. Bank is at rank #1,050, tagged as anoun, pronounced [baŋk].

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 1824, this pair ranks #2,003,663 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Bahn vs Bank

Shared letters: abn. Private to "Bahn": h. Private to "Bank": k.

"Bahn" · 4 letters · shape CVCC  ·  "Bank" · 4 letters · shape CVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Bahnabhn · bahhn · bahnn · banh · bbahn · bhan
  • Bankabnk · bakn · bankk · bannk · bbank · bnak

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Bahn" and "Bank" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([baːn] versus [baŋk]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Bahn" or "Bank"?
"Bahn" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #774 in our German list, against #1,050 for "Bank". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

You've compared "Bahn" and "Bank". Here's where to go from here.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Bahn" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Bank" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #2,003,663 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Bahn" and "Bank" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Bank vs Birk". 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

PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list