boivsbraWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#40,444
“boi” frequency rank
#38,655
“bra” frequency rank
79099
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature boi bra
Definition der Ochse paariger Körperteil zwischen Rumpf und Hand; Arm

Where the eye mixes boi and bra

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence. boi (CVV) and bra (CCV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.

3 ch
boi
3 ch
bra

Look-alike desk: boi vs bra

A purely visual mix-up. boi ([boj]) and bra ([bɣa]) 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 79099, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

boi is recorded at frequency rank #40,444, classified as anoun, pronounced [boj]. 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 79099, this pair ranks #223,826 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of boi vs bra

Shared letters: b. Private to "boi": io. Private to "bra": ar.

"boi" · 3 letters · shape CVV  ·  "bra" · 3 letters · shape CCV

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "boi" and "bra" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([boj] versus [bɣa]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary German text, does "boi" or "bra" show up more?
"bra" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #38,655 in our German list, against #40,444 for "boi". 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 "boi" 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 #223,826 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "boi" and "bra" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "bic vs boi". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #223,826 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