banksvsBasisWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#21,539
“banks” frequency rank
#1,345
“Basis” frequency rank
22884
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature banks Basis
Definition Plural des Substantivs bank Grundlage

Where the spellings diverge

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

5 ch
banks
5 ch
Basis

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. banks ([bæŋks]) 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 22884, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

banks is recorded at frequency rank #21,539, classified as anoun, pronounced [bæŋks]. 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 22884, this pair ranks #1,868,501 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of banks vs Basis

Shared letters: abs. Private to "banks": kn. Private to "Basis": i.

"banks" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC  ·  "Basis" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • banksabnks · bakns · bankks · bankss · bannks · bansk · bbanks · bnaks
  • Basisabsis · baiss · basiss · bassi · bassis · bbasis · bsais

Frequency comparison

banks#21,539
Basis#1,345

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "banks" and "Basis" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([bæŋks] versus [ˈbaːzɪs]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "banks" or "Basis"?
"Basis" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,345 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 banks vs Basis

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 “banks” 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