# balm vs bane

> English confusable word pair

## The two words

### balm
*noun · IPA /bɑːm/ · frequency rank #20,852*
Any of various aromatic resins exuded from certain plants, especially trees of the genus Commiphora of Africa, Arabia and India and Myroxylon of South America.

### bane
*noun · IPA /beɪn/ · frequency rank #20,563*
A cause of misery or ruin.

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/vs/balm-vs-bane