Which to use
“bon” and “bonus” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #11,198
- “bon” frequency rank
- #4,253
- “bonus” frequency rank
- 15451
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | bon | bonus |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | gut | gut, tüchtig |
Where the eye mixes bon and bonus
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: bon vs bonus
A purely visual mix-up. bon ([bɔ̃]) and bonus ([ˈbɔnʊs]) 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 2 extra letter(s) - “bon” sits inside “bonus”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 15451, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
bon is recorded at frequency rank #11,198, classified as anadj, pronounced [bɔ̃]. bonus is at rank #4,253, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈbɔnʊs].
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 15451, this pair ranks #1,943,779 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of bon vs bonus
Shared letters: bno. Private to "bon": -. Private to "bonus": su.
"bon" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "bonus" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- bonus ← bbonus · bnous · bonnus · bonsu · bonuss · bouns · obnus
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "bon" and "bonus" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "bon" vs "bonus" - which ranks higher?
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 "bon" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "bonus" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,943,779 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "bon" and "bonus" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "bic vs bon". 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 #1,943,779 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.