Which to use
“bode” is a verb and “boxy” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #27,746
- “bode” frequency rank
- #44,093
- “boxy” frequency rank
- 71839
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | bode | boxy |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | To indicate by signs, as future events; to be an omen of; to portend or foretell. | Box-shaped, boxlike, or otherwise suggestive of boxes (with right angles or at least blunt profiles). |
Where the eye mixes bode and boxy
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between bode and boxy
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: bode is /bəʊd/ while boxy is /ˈbɒk.si/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 71839, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
bode is recorded at frequency rank #27,746, classified as averb, pronounced /bəʊd/. boxy is at rank #44,093, tagged as anadj, pronounced /ˈbɒk.si/.
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 71839, this pair ranks #45,178 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of bode vs boxy
Shared letters: bo. Private to "bode": de. Private to "boxy": xy.
"bode" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "boxy" · 4 letters · shape CVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "bode" for "boxy" ever safe?
In ordinary English text, does "bode" or "boxy" show up more?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "bode" and "boxy" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "bode" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "boxy" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #45,178 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "bode" and "boxy" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "bevy vs boxy". 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 #45,178 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.