Which to use
“bade” and “be” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #42,539
- “bade” frequency rank
- #17
- “be” frequency rank
- 42556
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | bade | be |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | simple past of bid | As an auxiliary verb: |
Where the eye mixes bade and be
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses bade with be
A purely visual mix-up. bade (/bæd/) and be (/biː/) 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 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 42556, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
bade is recorded at frequency rank #42,539, classified as averb, pronounced /bæd/. be is at rank #17, tagged as averb, pronounced /biː/.
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 42556, this pair ranks #248,108 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of bade vs be
Shared letters: be. Private to "bade": ad. Private to "be": -.
"bade" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "be" · 2 letters · shape CV
Known mistypes of this pair
- bade ← badde · bbade · bdae
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "bade" and "be" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "bade" or "be"?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "bade" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "be" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #248,108 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "bade" and "be" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "bade vs bandy". 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 #248,108 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.