buh vs but, What's the Difference?

Which to use

“buh” is an intj and “but” is a conjunction - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#43,079
“buh” frequency rank: #6,402
“but” frequency rank: 49481
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	buh	but
Definition	Ausruf bei der Absicht, jemanden zu erschrecken	aber

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set buh and but apart are highlighted. They share 2 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

3 ch

buh

3 ch

but

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: buh is [buː] while but is [bʌt]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - h in “buh” becomes t in “but”, and the parts of speech differ too (intj vs conjunction), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 49481, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

buh is recorded at frequency rank #43,079, classified as anintj, pronounced [buː]. but is at rank #6,402, tagged as aconj, pronounced [bʌt].

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 49481, this pair ranks #1,209,901 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of buh vs but

Shared letters: bu. Private to "buh": h. Private to "but": t.

"buh" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "but" · 3 letters · shape CVC

Frequency comparison

buh#43,079

but#6,402

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "buh" and "but" be used interchangeably?

No - they are not even the same part of speech. "buh" is an intj and "but" a conjunction, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.

Which is more common, "buh" or "but"?

"but" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #6,402 in our German list, against #43,079 for "buh". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering buh vs but

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

Check the role first: if you need an intj, it's “buh”; for a conjunction, it's “but”.
See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “buh” entry
Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable