Which to use
“bahr” and “Bau” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #23,845
- “bahr” frequency rank
- #1,193
- “Bau” frequency rank
- 25038
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | bahr | Bau |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Meer, Ozean | Errichtung eines Hauses oder Bauwerkes |
Where the eye mixes bahr and Bau
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence. bahr runs 4 letters (CVCC) against Bau's 3 (CVV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: bahr vs Bau
A purely visual mix-up. bahr ([bahr]) and Bau ([baʊ̯]) 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 25038, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
bahr is recorded at frequency rank #23,845, classified as anoun, pronounced [bahr]. 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 25038, this pair ranks #1,839,049 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of bahr vs Bau
Shared letters: ab. Private to "bahr": hr. Private to "Bau": u.
"bahr" · 4 letters · shape CVCC · "Bau" · 3 letters · shape CVV
Known mistypes of this pair
- bahr ← abhr · bahhr · bahrr · barh · bbahr · bhar
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "bahr" for "Bau" ever safe?
Frequency check: "bahr" vs "Bau" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "bahr" 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 #1,839,049 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "bahr" and "Bau" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "bahr 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 #1,839,049 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.