Which to use
“bra” and “brake” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #38,655
- “bra” frequency rank
- #36,847
- “brake” frequency rank
- 75502
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | bra | brake |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | paariger Körperteil zwischen Rumpf und Hand; Arm | Vorrichtung, um ein Fahrzeug zu Verlangsamen oder zum Halten zu bringen |
Where the eye mixes bra and brake
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. bra runs 3 letters (CCV) against brake's 5 (CCVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses bra with brake
A purely visual mix-up. bra ([bɣa]) and brake ([bɹeɪk]) 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) - “bra” sits inside “brake”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 75502, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
bra is recorded at frequency rank #38,655, classified as anoun, pronounced [bɣa]. brake is at rank #36,847, tagged as anoun, pronounced [bɹeɪk].
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 75502, this pair ranks #306,381 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of bra vs brake
Shared letters: abr. Private to "bra": -. Private to "brake": ek.
"bra" · 3 letters · shape CCV · "brake" · 5 letters · shape CCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- brake ← barke · bbrake · brakke · brkae · brrake · rbake
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "bra" and "brake" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "bra" or "brake"?
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 "bra" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "brake" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #306,381 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "bra" and "brake" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "bic vs bra". 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 #306,381 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.