Which to use
“balls” and “Basis” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #24,255
- “balls” frequency rank
- #1,345
- “Basis” frequency rank
- 25600
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | balls | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Plural des Substantivs ball | Grundlage |
Where the eye mixes balls and Basis
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses balls with Basis
A purely visual mix-up. balls ([bɔːlz]) and Basis ([ˈbaːzɪs]) 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 25600, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
balls is recorded at frequency rank #24,255, classified as anoun, pronounced [bɔːlz]. Basis is at rank #1,345, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈbaːzɪs].
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 25600, this pair ranks #1,830,828 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of balls vs Basis
Shared letters: abs. Private to "balls": l. Private to "Basis": i.
"balls" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC · "Basis" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "balls" for "Basis" ever safe?
Which is more common, "balls" or "Basis"?
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 "balls" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Basis" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,830,828 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "balls" and "Basis" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "balls vs bills". 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 #1,830,828 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.