blasvsbraConfusable pair

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

Which to use

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

#32,964
“blas” frequency rank
#38,655
“bra” frequency rank
71619
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature blas bra
Definition 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs blasen paariger Körperteil zwischen Rumpf und Hand; Arm

Where the eye mixes blas and bra

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

4 ch
blas
3 ch
bra

Visual trap between blas and bra

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: blas is [blaːs] while bra is [bɣa]. 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 (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 71619, 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]. 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 71619, this pair ranks #411,628 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of blas vs bra

Shared letters: ab. Private to "blas": ls. Private to "bra": r.

"blas" · 4 letters · shape CCVC  ·  "bra" · 3 letters · shape CCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • blasbblas · bllas · blsa · lbas

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "blas" and "bra" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "blas" is a verb and "bra" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
In ordinary German text, does "blas" or "bra" show up more?
"blas" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #32,964 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.

What to do next

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "blas" 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 #411,628 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "blas" 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 #411,628 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