Which to use
“bodes” is a noun and “bored” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #48,094
- “bodes” frequency rank
- #5,103
- “bored” frequency rank
- 53197
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | bodes | bored |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | plural of bode | simple past and past participle of bore |
Where the eye mixes bodes and bored
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between bodes and bored
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: bodes is /bəʊdz/ while bored is /bɔːd/. 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 (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 53197, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
bodes is recorded at frequency rank #48,094, classified as anoun, pronounced /bəʊdz/. bored is at rank #5,103, tagged as averb, pronounced /bɔːd/.
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 53197, this pair ranks #150,983 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of bodes vs bored
Shared letters: bdeo. Private to "bodes": s. Private to "bored": r.
"bodes" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC · "bored" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "bodes" for "bored" ever safe?
Which is more common, "bodes" or "bored"?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "bodes" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "bored" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #150,983 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "bodes" and "bored" 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 #150,983 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.