Which to use
“bends” and “bonus” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #18,494
- “bends” frequency rank
- #3,281
- “bonus” frequency rank
- 21775
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | bends | bonus |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | plural of bend | Something extra that is good; an added benefit. |
Where the eye mixes bends and bonus
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between bends and bonus
A purely visual mix-up. bends (/bɛndz/) and bonus (/ˈbəʊ.nəs/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 21775, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
bends is recorded at frequency rank #18,494, classified as anoun, pronounced /bɛndz/. bonus is at rank #3,281, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈbəʊ.nəs/.
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 21775, this pair ranks #421,438 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of bends vs bonus
Shared letters: bns. Private to "bends": de. Private to "bonus": ou.
"bends" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC · "bonus" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "bends" and "bonus" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "bends" vs "bonus" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "bends" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "bonus" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #421,438 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "bends" and "bonus" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "bends vs bendy". 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 #421,438 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.