BandvsbanksWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“Band” and “banks” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#744
“Band” frequency rank
#21,539
“banks” frequency rank
22283
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Band banks
Definition Plural »Bänder«: Plural des Substantivs bank

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set Band and banks apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch
Band
5 ch
banks

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. Band ([bant]) and banks ([bæŋks]) 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 22283, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Band is recorded at frequency rank #744, classified as anoun, pronounced [bant]. banks is at rank #21,539, tagged as anoun, pronounced [bæŋks].

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 22283, this pair ranks #1,876,071 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Band vs banks

Shared letters: abn. Private to "Band": d. Private to "banks": ks.

"Band" · 4 letters · shape CVCC  ·  "banks" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Bandabnd · badn · bandd · bannd · bband · bnad
  • banksabnks · bakns · bankks · bankss · bannks · bansk · bbanks · bnaks

Frequency comparison

Band#744
banks#21,539

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Band" and "banks" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([bant] versus [bæŋks]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Band" or "banks"?
"Band" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #744 in our German list, against #21,539 for "banks". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering Band vs banks

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “Band” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list