Which to use
“banks” and “Bens” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #21,539
- “banks” frequency rank
- #40,433
- “Bens” frequency rank
- 61972
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | banks | Bens |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Plural des Substantivs bank | Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Ben |
Where the eye mixes banks and Bens
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. banks runs 5 letters (CVCCC) against Bens's 4 (CVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between banks and Bens
A purely visual mix-up. banks ([bæŋks]) and Bens ([bɛns]) 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 61972, 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]. Bens is at rank #40,433, tagged as anoun, pronounced [bɛns].
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 61972, this pair ranks #729,993 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of banks vs Bens
Shared letters: bns. Private to "banks": ak. Private to "Bens": e.
"banks" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC · "Bens" · 4 letters · shape CVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "banks" and "Bens" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "banks" vs "Bens" - which ranks higher?
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 "banks" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Bens" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #729,993 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "banks" and "Bens" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Bens vs Brenz". 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 #729,993 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.