# bum vs by

> English confusable word pair

## The two words

### bum
*noun · IPA /bʌm/ · frequency rank #10,339*
The buttocks.

### by
*preposition · IPA /baɪ/ · frequency rank #24*
Near or next to.

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