basedvsbatesConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#18,820
“based” frequency rank
#34,536
“bates” frequency rank
53356
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature based bates
Definition Präteritum (simple past) des Verbs base 3. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs bate

Letter map: based vs bates

Shared letters muted; letters that set based and bates apart highlighted. Shared run: 3.

5 ch
based
5 ch
bates

Pair insight - based / bates

based and bates are indexed as a confusable German pair. We have no recorded pronunciation or part of speech for both members, so the spelling overlap is what we can show you: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 53356, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

based is recorded at frequency rank #18,820, classified as averb, pronounced [beɪst]. bates is at rank #34,536, tagged as averb, pronounced […].

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 53356, this pair ranks #1,061,256 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of based vs bates

Shared letters: abes. Private to "based": d. Private to "bates": t.

"based" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC  ·  "bates" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • basedabsed · baesd · basde · basedd · bassed · bbased · bsaed
  • batesbatess · batse · battes · bbates · btaes

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "based" and "bates" be used interchangeably?
No. They share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, but the dictionary glosses above give them different meanings, so swapping one for the other changes what the sentence says.
Frequency check: "based" vs "bates" - which ranks higher?
"based" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #18,820 in our German list, against #34,536 for "bates". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

You've compared "based" and "bates". Here's where to go from here.

  • Full dictionary entry for "based" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "bates" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,061,256 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "based" and "bates" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "bates vs puzzles". 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 #1,061,256 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list