# berth vs beta

> English confusable word pair

## The two words

### berth
*noun · IPA /bɜːθ/ · frequency rank #16,179*
Chiefly in wide berth: a sufficient space in the water for a ship or other vessel to lie at anchor or manoeuvre without getting in the way of other vessels, or colliding into rocks or the shore.

### beta
*noun · IPA /ˈbiːtə/ · frequency rank #5,101*
The second letter of the Greek alphabet (Β, β), preceded by alpha (Α, α) and followed by gamma, (Γ, γ). In modern Greek it represents the voiced labiodental fricative sound of v found in the English words have and vase.

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