Which to use
“bon” and “bösen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #11,198
- “bon” frequency rank
- #3,364
- “bösen” frequency rank
- 14562
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | bon | bösen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | gut | Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Flexion des Adjektivs böse |
Where the eye mixes bon and bösen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses bon with bösen
A purely visual mix-up. bon ([bɔ̃]) and bösen ([ˈbøːzn̩]) 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 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 14562, 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]. bösen is at rank #3,364, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈbøːzn̩].
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 14562, this pair ranks #1,950,335 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of bon vs bösen
Shared letters: bn. Private to "bon": o. Private to "bösen": esö.
"bon" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "bösen" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "bon" and "bösen" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary German text, does "bon" or "bösen" show up more?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "bon" and "bösen" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "bon" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "bösen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,950,335 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "bon" and "bösen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "bic vs bon". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #1,950,335 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.