Which to use
“bunt” is an adjective and “but” is a conjunction - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #6,284
- “bunt” frequency rank
- #6,402
- “but” frequency rank
- 12686
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | bunt | but |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | viele Farben nebeneinander aufweisend | aber |
Where the eye mixes bunt and but
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses bunt with but
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: bunt is [bʊnt] while but is [bʌt]. 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 conjunction), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 12686, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
bunt is recorded at frequency rank #6,284, classified as anadj, pronounced [bʊnt]. 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 12686, this pair ranks #1,962,677 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of bunt vs but
Shared letters: btu. Private to "bunt": n. Private to "but": -.
"bunt" · 4 letters · shape CVCC · "but" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- bunt ← bbunt · bnut · bunnt · buntt · butn · ubnt
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "bunt" for "but" ever safe?
Which is more common, "bunt" or "but"?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "bunt" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "but" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,962,677 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "bunt" and "but" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "bic vs but". 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 #1,962,677 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.