beanvsbraTell them apart

Which to use

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

#32,940
“bean” frequency rank
#38,655
“bra” frequency rank
71595
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature bean bra
Definition die Bohne paariger Körperteil zwischen Rumpf und Hand; Arm

Where the eye mixes bean and bra

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

4 ch
bean
3 ch
bra

Visual trap between bean and bra

A purely visual mix-up. bean ([biːn]) and bra ([bɣa]) 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 71595, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

bean is recorded at frequency rank #32,940, classified as anoun, pronounced [biːn]. bra is at rank #38,655, tagged as anoun, pronounced [bɣa].

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 71595, this pair ranks #412,321 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of bean vs bra

Shared letters: ab. Private to "bean": en. Private to "bra": r.

"bean" · 4 letters · shape CVVC  ·  "bra" · 3 letters · shape CCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • beanbaen · bbean · beann · bena · eban

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "bean" and "bra" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([biːn] versus [bɣa]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "bean" or "bra"?
"bean" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #32,940 in our German list, against #38,655 for "bra". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "bean" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "bra" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #412,321 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "bean" and "bra" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "bic vs bra". 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 #412,321 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