bondvsbowConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#8,995
“bond” frequency rank
#43,070
“bow” frequency rank
52065
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature bond bow
Definition im Rechtswesen ein Beweis in Form einer Urkunde mit Vereinbarungen für eine langfristige Schuld, durch die der Aussteller (Darlehensnehmer) bei Fälligkeit zur Zahlung von Zinsen und zur Rückzahlung des Darlehens verpflichtet ist Bogen; eine Jagdwaffe, die eine elastische Sehne nutzt, um Pfeile zu beschleunigen

Letter map: bond vs bow

Shared letters muted; letters that set bond and bow apart highlighted. Shared run: 2.

4 ch
bond
3 ch
bow

Pair insight - bond / bow

bond and bow are indexed as a confusable German pair. We have no recorded pronunciation or part of speech for both members, so the spelling overlap is what we can show you: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 52065, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

bond is recorded at frequency rank #8,995, classified as anoun, pronounced […]. bow is at rank #43,070, tagged as anoun, pronounced [bəʊ].

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 52065, this pair ranks #1,111,297 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of bond vs bow

Shared letters: bo. Private to "bond": dn. Private to "bow": w.

"bond" · 4 letters · shape CVCC  ·  "bow" · 3 letters · shape CVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • bondbbond · bnod · bodn · bondd · bonnd · obnd

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "bond" for "bow" ever safe?
No. They differ by 1 letter(s) in length, but the dictionary glosses above give them different meanings, so swapping one for the other changes what the sentence says.
Which is more common, "bond" or "bow"?
"bond" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #8,995 in our German list, against #43,070 for "bow". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Done with this confusable. These links stay specific to "bond" and "bow".

  • Full dictionary entry for "bond" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "bow" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,111,297 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "bond" and "bow" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "bic vs bow". 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 #1,111,297 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