Which to use
“bade” is a verb and “bodes” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #42,539
- “bade” frequency rank
- #48,094
- “bodes” frequency rank
- 90633
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | bade | bodes |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | simple past of bid | plural of bode |
Where the eye mixes bade and bodes
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. bade runs 4 letters (CVCV) against bodes's 5 (CVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between bade and bodes
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: bade is /bæd/ while bodes is /bəʊdz/. 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 (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 90633, 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/. bodes is at rank #48,094, tagged as anoun, pronounced /bəʊdz/.
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 90633, this pair ranks #3,997 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of bade vs bodes
Shared letters: bde. Private to "bade": a. Private to "bodes": os.
"bade" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "bodes" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "bade" for "bodes" ever safe?
Which is more common, "bade" or "bodes"?
Useful next steps
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 "bodes" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #3,997 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "bade" and "bodes" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "bodes vs Bodie". 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 #3,997 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.