Which to use
“bunks” and “butts” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #45,249
- “bunks” frequency rank
- #14,287
- “butts” frequency rank
- 59536
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | bunks | butts |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | plural of bunk | plural of butt |
Where the eye mixes bunks and butts
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: bunks vs butts
A purely visual mix-up. bunks (/bʌŋks/) and butts (/bʌts/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 59536, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
bunks is recorded at frequency rank #45,249, classified as anoun, pronounced /bʌŋks/. butts is at rank #14,287, tagged as anoun, pronounced /bʌts/.
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 59536, this pair ranks #105,557 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of bunks vs butts
Shared letters: bsu. Private to "bunks": kn. Private to "butts": t.
"bunks" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC · "butts" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "bunks" for "butts" ever safe?
In ordinary English text, does "bunks" or "butts" show up more?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "bunks" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "butts" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #105,557 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "bunks" and "butts" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "bung vs bunks". 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 #105,557 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.