Which to use
“bic” and “Bus” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #49,525
- “bic” frequency rank
- #1,626
- “Bus” frequency rank
- 51151
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | bic | Bus |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Kugelschreiber | als Verkehrsmittel im öffentlichen Personennahverkehr eingesetztes vielsitziges, großes Kraftfahrzeug zur Beförderung einer größeren Anzahl von Personen |
Where the eye mixes bic and Bus
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.
Why the eye confuses bic with Bus
A purely visual mix-up. bic ([bik]) and Bus ([bʊs]) 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 51151, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
bic is recorded at frequency rank #49,525, classified as anoun, pronounced [bik]. Bus is at rank #1,626, tagged as anoun, pronounced [bʊs].
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 51151, this pair ranks #1,146,517 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of bic vs Bus
Shared letters: b. Private to "bic": ci. Private to "Bus": su.
"bic" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "Bus" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "bic" and "Bus" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary German text, does "bic" or "Bus" show up more?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "bic" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Bus" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,146,517 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "bic" and "Bus" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "bic vs Bims". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #1,146,517 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.