bösevsBoxWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: böse is a adjective, Box is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“böse” is an adjective and “Box” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#1,543
“böse” frequency rank
#3,642
“Box” frequency rank
5185
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature böse Box
Definition moralisch falsch, nicht gut; bösartig Behältnis, Verpackung, meistens in der Form eines Quaders

Where the eye mixes böse and Box

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.

4 ch
böse
3 ch
Box

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: böse is [ˈbøːzə] while Box is [bɔks]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 5185, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

böse is recorded at frequency rank #1,543, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈbøːzə]. Box is at rank #3,642, tagged as anoun, pronounced [bɔks].

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 5185, this pair ranks #1,995,551 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of böse vs Box

Shared letters: b. Private to "böse": esö. Private to "Box": ox.

"böse" · 4 letters · shape CVCV  ·  "Box" · 3 letters · shape CVC

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "böse" and "Box" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "böse" is an adjective and "Box" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "böse" or "Box"?
"böse" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,543 in our German list, against #3,642 for "Box". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list