bautvsblästConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#3,357
“baut” frequency rank
#14,031
“bläst” frequency rank
17388
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature baut bläst
Definition 3. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs bauen 2. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs blasen

Where the eye mixes baut and bläst

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.

4 ch
baut
5 ch
bläst

Look-alike desk: baut vs bläst

A purely visual mix-up. baut ([baʊ̯t]) and bläst ([blɛːst]) 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 17388, 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]. bläst is at rank #14,031, tagged as averb, pronounced [blɛːst].

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 17388, this pair ranks #1,927,841 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of baut vs bläst

Shared letters: bt. Private to "baut": au. Private to "bläst": lsä.

"baut" · 4 letters · shape CVVC  ·  "bläst" · 5 letters · shape CCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • bautabut · batu · bautt · bbaut · buat

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "baut" and "bläst" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([baʊ̯t] versus [blɛːst]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary German text, does "baut" or "bläst" show up more?
"baut" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,357 in our German list, against #14,031 for "bläst". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "baut" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "bläst" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,927,841 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "baut" and "bläst" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "belässt vs bläst". 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 #1,927,841 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