blasvsblowWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: blas is a verb, blow is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“blas” is a verb and “blow” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#32,964
“blas” frequency rank
#30,964
“blow” frequency rank
63928
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature blas blow
Definition 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs blasen Schlag, Stoß

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set blas and blow apart are highlighted. They share 2 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch
blas
4 ch
blow

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: blas is [blaːs] while blow is [bləʊ]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 63928, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

blas is recorded at frequency rank #32,964, classified as averb, pronounced [blaːs]. blow is at rank #30,964, tagged as anoun, pronounced [bləʊ].

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 63928, this pair ranks #659,402 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of blas vs blow

Shared letters: bl. Private to "blas": as. Private to "blow": ow.

"blas" · 4 letters · shape CCVC  ·  "blow" · 4 letters · shape CCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • blasbblas · bllas · blsa · lbas
  • blowbblow · bllow · bloww · blwo · lbow

Frequency comparison

blas#32,964
blow#30,964

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "blas" and "blow" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "blas" is a verb and "blow" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "blas" or "blow"?
"blow" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #30,964 in our German list, against #32,964 for "blas". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering blas vs blow

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “blas”; for a noun, it's “blow”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “blas” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list