bao
[ˈbao]
The verdict
“bao” is a moderately-common Spanish word, ranked #36,424 in Spanish word frequency and used as a noun.
- #36,424
- frequency rank, Spanish
- 3
- letters
- 20
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Cada uno de los maderos que de trecho en trecho atraviesan de babor a estribor, endentados sobre los durmientes y sirven para aguantar los costados, y sostener las cubiertas con todo el peso de la ...
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | bao |
| Language | Spanish |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | [ˈbao] |
| Letters | 3 |
| Frequency rank | #36,424 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 20 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “bao” sits in Spanish frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The Spanish entry for bao is 3 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as [ˈbao]. Corpus data places it at rank #36,424 in overall Spanish word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 2 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for bao, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable Spanish rules. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "by", "be", "bo", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.
Wiktionary doesn't record an etymology for this headword, so its spelling is best read as a straightforward mapping from sound to letter. The correct Spanish form is bao, spelled B-A-O.
Definition
- 1Cada uno de los maderos que de trecho en trecho atraviesan de babor a estribor, endentados sobre los durmientes y sirven para aguantar los costados, y sostener las cubiertas con todo el peso de la artillería y demás efectos: hacen el oficio de las vigas en las casas. En algunos buques se emplean baos de hierro, que ofrecen las ventajas de ser más ligeros, más sólidos y de menos bulto.
- 2Cada uno de los maderos que se ponen a derecha e izquierda de un palo o mastelero, en el sentido de popa a proa, descansando sobre las cacholas, o loscanes, para sostener las cofas, y crucetas.
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 Spanish corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Using “bao”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct Spanish spelling is B-A-O - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as [ˈbao] (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “by” - see the side-by-side comparison. bao vs by
- Browse more Spanish words and confusable pairs in the same reference. Spanish words
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.