bodesvsboweConfusable pair

Quick tell: bodes is a noun, bowe is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“bodes” is a noun and “bowe” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#48,094
“bodes” frequency rank
#42,557
“bowe” frequency rank
90651
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature bodes bowe
Definition plural of bode Obsolete spelling of bow.

Letter map: bodes vs bowe

Shared letters muted; letters that set bodes and bowe apart highlighted. Shared run: 3.

5 ch
bodes
4 ch
bowe

Grammar separator: bodes vs bowe

Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: bodes is anoun and boweaverb. On the page they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 90651, 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/. bowe is at rank #42,557, tagged as averb.

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 90651, this pair ranks #3,977 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of bodes vs bowe

Shared letters: beo. Private to "bodes": ds. Private to "bowe": w.

"bodes" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC  ·  "bowe" · 4 letters · shape CVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • bodesbbodes · bdoes · boddes · bodess · bodse · boeds · obdes
  • bowebbowe · boew · bowwe · bwoe · obwe

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "bodes" and "bowe" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "bodes" is a noun and "bowe" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Frequency check: "bodes" vs "bowe" - which ranks higher?
"bowe" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #42,557 in our English list, against #48,094 for "bodes". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

You've compared "bodes" and "bowe". Here's where to go from here.

  • Full dictionary entry for "bodes" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "bowe" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #3,977 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "bodes" and "bowe" 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 #3,977 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list