Which to use
“bait” and “bath” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #45,151
- “bait” frequency rank
- #32,434
- “bath” frequency rank
- 77585
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | bait | bath |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | der Köder, das Lockmittel | Bad (Tätigkeit) |
Where the eye mixes bait and bath
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between bait and bath
A purely visual mix-up. bait ([beɪt]) and bath ([bɑːθ]) 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 77585, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
bait is recorded at frequency rank #45,151, classified as anoun, pronounced [beɪt]. bath is at rank #32,434, tagged as anoun, pronounced [bɑːθ].
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 77585, this pair ranks #257,552 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of bait vs bath
Shared letters: abt. Private to "bait": i. Private to "bath": h.
"bait" · 4 letters · shape CVVC · "bath" · 4 letters · shape CVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "bait" for "bath" ever safe?
Frequency check: "bait" vs "bath" - which ranks higher?
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 "bait" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "bath" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #257,552 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "bait" and "bath" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "bait 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 #257,552 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.