Which to use
“Ballon” and “Ballons” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #16,364
- “Ballon” frequency rank
- #23,432
- “Ballons” frequency rank
- 39796
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Ballon | Ballons |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Gummihülle, die mit Luft oder Helium aufgeblasen werden kann | Genitiv Singular des Substantivs Ballon |
Where the eye mixes Ballon and Ballons
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. Ballon runs 6 letters (CVCCVC) against Ballons's 7 (CVCCVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses Ballon with Ballons
A purely visual mix-up. Ballon ([baˈlɔŋ]) and Ballons ([baˈlɔŋs]) 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 extra letter(s) - “Ballon” sits inside “Ballons”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 39796, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Ballon is recorded at frequency rank #16,364, classified as anoun, pronounced [baˈlɔŋ]. Ballons is at rank #23,432, tagged as anoun, pronounced [baˈlɔŋs].
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 39796, this pair ranks #1,526,644 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of Ballon vs Ballons
Shared letters: ablno. Private to "Ballon": -. Private to "Ballons": s.
"Ballon" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "Ballons" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "Ballon" for "Ballons" ever safe?
Which is more common, "Ballon" or "Ballons"?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "Ballon" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Ballons" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,526,644 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Ballon" and "Ballons" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Balkone vs Ballons". 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 #1,526,644 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.