Which to use
“Bahn” and “bav” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #774
- “Bahn” frequency rank
- #39,229
- “bav” frequency rank
- 40003
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Bahn | bav |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Strecke, die von einem Körper in einer vorgeschriebenen Richtung durchmessen wird | Vater |
Where the eye mixes Bahn and bav
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: Bahn vs bav
A purely visual mix-up. Bahn ([baːn]) and bav ([bɑv]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 40003, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Bahn is recorded at frequency rank #774, classified as anoun, pronounced [baːn]. bav is at rank #39,229, tagged as anoun, pronounced [bɑv].
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 40003, this pair ranks #1,520,763 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of Bahn vs bav
Shared letters: ab. Private to "Bahn": hn. Private to "bav": v.
"Bahn" · 4 letters · shape CVCC · "bav" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- Bahn ← abhn · bahhn · bahnn · banh · bbahn · bhan
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "Bahn" for "bav" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "Bahn" or "bav" show up more?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "Bahn" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "bav" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,520,763 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Bahn" and "bav" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "bav vs bic". 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 #1,520,763 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.