bow

[bəʊ]

/[bəʊ]/ noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

The verdict

“bow” sits in 20 confusable pairs (corpus #43,070) as a noun. The look-alike neighbours are the real trap.

#43,070
frequency rank, German
5,818
“B” headwords
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Bogen; eine Jagdwaffe, die eine elastische Sehne nutzt, um Pfeile zu beschleunigen

Corpus desk

Index DE-bow · bow · German

bow · rank #43,070 · 0 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #43,070
  • LEN-MID 3 letters
  • VOW-1 1 vowel
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 5,818
  • PHOTO-FINISH branch

Nearest frequency peer: branch (+1 rank slots)

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Frequency neighbourhood for “bow”

Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)

corpus weight

What this shows Bars show where “bow” sits against the nearest ranked German headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

bow vs by
33% similar
bow vs Br
0% similar
bow vs bu
33% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for bow
PropertyValue
Headwordbow
LanguageGerman
Part of speechNoun
IPA[bəʊ]
Letters3
Frequency rank#43,070
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Wo “bow” in der deutschen Häufigkeit sitzt

Von links nach rechts: die wenigen Träger des Alltags, dann der lange Schwanz kaum gebrauchter Formen.bowliegt hier:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Die Achse ist logarithmisch: jeder Tick markiert etwa zehnfach geringere Häufigkeit. In derselben Seltenheitsbandbreite liegen „branch“ (#43,071), „blühte“ (#43,068), „brasilianischer“ (#43,072). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Easy to mix with look-alikes

The spelling risk for bow is neighbouring look-alikes ("by", "Br", …), not just typos; it is anoun pronounced [bəʊ]. Frequency #43,070 among 5,818 “B” headwords. 4 recorded senses keep meaning in play.

We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for bow, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable German rules. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "by", "Br", "bu", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

This headword's origin isn't recorded in our source data, so its spelling is easiest explained by how it's pronounced rather than where it came from. The correct German form is bow, spelled B-O-W.

Definition

  1. 1
    Bogen; eine Jagdwaffe, die eine elastische Sehne nutzt, um Pfeile zu beschleunigen
  2. 2
    Schleife; ein besonderer Knoten mit zwei Bögen
  3. 3
    Stab, der mit Rosshaar oder Kunstfasern bespannt ist und benutzt wird, um die Saiten von Streichinstrumenten zum Schwingen zu bringen
  4. 4
    Bug; die vordere Spitze eine Schiffes

This word in other languages

nœud(Français)

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 German corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "bow"?
"bow" is spelled B-O-W. The IPA pronunciation is [bəʊ].
What does "bow" mean?
As a noun, "bow" means: Bogen; eine Jagdwaffe, die eine elastische Sehne nutzt, um Pfeile zu beschleunigen
What words are commonly confused with "bow"?
"bow" is commonly confused with "by", "Br", "bu". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "bow"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "bow" is [bəʊ]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "bow" come from?
"bow" is a German word. PlainSpell covers definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar German words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "bow", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked German headwords with 3 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

buh#43,079Ede#43,118fem#43,170ZOB#42,968

What to do next

You've looked up "bow". Here's where to go from here.

  • "bow" maps to 20 confusable pairs in this vintage; the highest-scored is "by". View pair
  • Usage frequency rank #43,070 among German headwords in this corpus. Corpus statistics
  • Browse more German words in the "B" letter cohort. B–Z browse

PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.

Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list