BullenvsBussenWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#9,341
“Bullen” frequency rank
#14,262
“Bussen” frequency rank
23603
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Bullen Bussen
Definition Genitiv Singular des Substantivs Bulle Dativ Plural des Substantivs Bus

Where the eye mixes Bullen and Bussen

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.

6 ch
Bullen
6 ch
Bussen

Why the eye confuses Bullen with Bussen

A purely visual mix-up. Bullen ([ˈbʊlən]) and Bussen ([ˈbʊsn̩]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 23603, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Bullen is recorded at frequency rank #9,341, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈbʊlən]. Bussen is at rank #14,262, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈbʊsn̩].

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 23603, this pair ranks #1,859,076 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Bullen vs Bussen

Shared letters: benu. Private to "Bullen": l. Private to "Bussen": s.

"Bullen" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC  ·  "Bussen" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Bullenbbullen · blulen · buleln · bulen · bullenn · bullne · ubllen
  • Bussenbbussen · bsusen · busesn · bussenn · bussne · bußen · ubssen

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "Bullen" and "Bussen" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈbʊlən] versus [ˈbʊsn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "Bullen" vs "Bussen" - which ranks higher?
"Bullen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #9,341 in our German list, against #14,262 for "Bussen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Eye-level mix-up between "Bullen" and "Bussen" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Bullen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Bussen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,859,076 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Bullen" and "Bussen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Bussen vs Bussi". 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 #1,859,076 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