Which to use
“bien” is an adverb and “bon” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #25,924
- “bien” frequency rank
- #11,198
- “bon” frequency rank
- 37122
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | bien | bon |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | vom Menschen her positiv bewertet | gut |
Where the eye mixes bien and bon
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses bien with bon
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: bien is [ˈbjen] while bon is [bɔ̃]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (adverb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 37122, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
bien is recorded at frequency rank #25,924, classified as anadv, pronounced [ˈbjen]. bon is at rank #11,198, tagged as anadj, pronounced [bɔ̃].
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 37122, this pair ranks #1,598,286 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of bien vs bon
Shared letters: bn. Private to "bien": ei. Private to "bon": o.
"bien" · 4 letters · shape CVVC · "bon" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- bien ← bbien · bienn · bine · iben
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "bien" for "bon" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "bien" or "bon" show up more?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "bien" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "bon" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,598,286 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "bien" and "bon" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "bien vs Brenz". 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 #1,598,286 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.