bedvsBoxConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#22,645
“bed” frequency rank
#3,642
“Box” frequency rank
26287
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature bed Box
Definition Möbelstück zum Schlafen; Bett Behältnis, Verpackung, meistens in der Form eines Quaders

Where the eye mixes bed and Box

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.

3 ch
bed
3 ch
Box

Look-alike desk: bed vs Box

A purely visual mix-up. bed ([bɛd]) and Box ([bɔks]) 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 26287, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

bed is recorded at frequency rank #22,645, classified as anoun, pronounced [bɛd]. Box is at rank #3,642, tagged as anoun, pronounced [bɔks].

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 26287, this pair ranks #1,820,406 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of bed vs Box

Shared letters: b. Private to "bed": de. Private to "Box": ox.

"bed" · 3 letters · shape CVC  ·  "Box" · 3 letters · shape CVC

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "bed" and "Box" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([bɛd] versus [bɔks]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "bed" or "Box"?
"Box" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,642 in our German list, against #22,645 for "bed". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Eye-level mix-up between "bed" and "Box" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "bed" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Box" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,820,406 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "bed" and "Box" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "bed vs bic". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #1,820,406 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