blödvsbonTell them apart

Which to use

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

#2,812
“blöd” frequency rank
#11,198
“bon” frequency rank
14010
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature blöd bon
Definition nicht sehr intelligent (Person) oder durch mangelndes Nachdenken entstanden gut

Where the eye mixes blöd and bon

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence. blöd runs 4 letters (CCVC) against bon's 3 (CVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

4 ch
blöd
3 ch
bon

Why the eye confuses blöd with bon

A purely visual mix-up. blöd ([bløːt]) and bon ([bɔ̃]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 14010, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

blöd is recorded at frequency rank #2,812, classified as anadj, pronounced [bløːt]. 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 14010, this pair ranks #1,954,191 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of blöd vs bon

Shared letters: b. Private to "blöd": dlö. Private to "bon": no.

"blöd" · 4 letters · shape CCVC  ·  "bon" · 3 letters · shape CVC

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "blöd" and "bon" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([bløːt] versus [bɔ̃]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "blöd" vs "bon" - which ranks higher?
"blöd" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,812 in our German list, against #11,198 for "bon". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "blöd" 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 #1,954,191 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "blöd" and "bon" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "bic vs bon". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #1,954,191 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