Which to use
“böse” is an adjective and “Büste” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #1,543
- “böse” frequency rank
- #26,801
- “Büste” frequency rank
- 28344
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | böse | Büste |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | moralisch falsch, nicht gut; bösartig | plastisch gestaltetes Abbild einer Person bis zur Schulter oder als Halbfigur |
Where the eye mixes böse and Büste
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: böse vs Büste
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: böse is [ˈbøːzə] while Büste is [ˈbʏstə]. 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 28344, 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]. Büste is at rank #26,801, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈbʏstə].
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 28344, this pair ranks #1,786,460 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of böse vs Büste
Shared letters: bes. Private to "böse": ö. Private to "Büste": tü.
"böse" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "Büste" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "böse" for "Büste" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "böse" or "Büste" show up more?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "böse" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Büste" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,786,460 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "böse" and "Büste" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Bussi vs Büste". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #1,786,460 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.