Which to use
“bares” is an adjective and “barley” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #21,894
- “bares” frequency rank
- #47,979
- “barley” frequency rank
- 69873
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | bares | barley |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Nominativ Singular Neutrum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs bar | eine gedeihende Getreidepflanze mit kurzem Halm und langen Grannen, deren Körner besonders zum Bierbrauen und zu Futterzwecken verwendet werden |
Where the eye mixes bares and barley
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses bares with barley
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: bares is [ˈbaːʁəs] while barley is [ˈbɑɹli]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 69873, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
bares is recorded at frequency rank #21,894, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈbaːʁəs]. barley is at rank #47,979, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈbɑɹli].
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 69873, this pair ranks #463,385 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of bares vs barley
Shared letters: aber. Private to "bares": s. Private to "barley": ly.
"bares" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC · "barley" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "bares" for "barley" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "bares" or "barley" show up more?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "bares" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "barley" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #463,385 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "bares" and "barley" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "barber vs barley". 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 #463,385 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.