Which to use
“baut” and “bist” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #3,357
- “baut” frequency rank
- #225
- “bist” frequency rank
- 3582
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | baut | bist |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 3. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs bauen | 2. Person Singular Präsens Indikativ des Verbs sein |
Where the eye mixes baut and bist
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses baut with bist
A purely visual mix-up. baut ([baʊ̯t]) and bist ([bɪst]) 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 3582, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
baut is recorded at frequency rank #3,357, classified as averb, pronounced [baʊ̯t]. bist is at rank #225, tagged as averb, pronounced [bɪst].
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 3582, this pair ranks #1,999,873 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of baut vs bist
Shared letters: bt. Private to "baut": au. Private to "bist": is.
"baut" · 4 letters · shape CVVC · "bist" · 4 letters · shape CVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "baut" for "bist" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "baut" or "bist" show up more?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "baut" and "bist" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "baut" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "bist" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,999,873 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "baut" and "bist" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Bauamt vs baut". 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 #1,999,873 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.