Which to use
“Ballast” and “Ballett” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #25,455
- “Ballast” frequency rank
- #12,865
- “Ballett” frequency rank
- 38320
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Ballast | Ballett |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Stoff oder Bauteil, das für seine Größe vergleichsweise schwer ist und zur Stabilisierung des Objektes, auf welchem es geladen ist (zum Beispiel auf Schiffen, Ballonen, U-Booten und anderen Tauchfahrzeugen) dient | Kunstform am Theater neben Oper und Schauspiel; die Kunst des Tanzes |
Where the eye mixes Ballast and Ballett
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. Ballast and Ballett follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCCVCC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Visual trap between Ballast and Ballett
A purely visual mix-up. Ballast ([ˈbalast]) and Ballett ([baˈlɛt]) 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 38320, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Ballast is recorded at frequency rank #25,455, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈbalast]. Ballett is at rank #12,865, tagged as anoun, pronounced [baˈlɛt].
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 38320, this pair ranks #1,567,047 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of Ballast vs Ballett
Shared letters: ablt. Private to "Ballast": s. Private to "Ballett": e.
"Ballast" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCC · "Ballett" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "Ballast" and "Ballett" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "Ballast" or "Ballett"?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "Ballast" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Ballett" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,567,047 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Ballast" and "Ballett" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Ballast vs ballet". 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 #1,567,047 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.