bachevsbaileWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

“bache” and “baile” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#29,939
“bache” frequency rank
#2,644
“baile” frequency rank
32583
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature bache baile
Definition Hoyo que se hace en la calle o camino por el mucho uso. Acción o efecto de bailar.

Where the eye mixes bache and baile

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.

5 ch
bache
5 ch
baile

Why the eye confuses bache with baile

A purely visual mix-up. bache ([ˈbat͡ʃe]) and baile ([ˈbajle]) 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 32583, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

bache is recorded at frequency rank #29,939, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈbat͡ʃe]. baile is at rank #2,644, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈbajle].

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 32583, this pair ranks #201,236 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of bache vs baile

Shared letters: abe. Private to "bache": ch. Private to "baile": il.

"bache" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV  ·  "baile" · 5 letters · shape CVVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • bacheabche · bacche · baceh · bachhe · bahce · bbache · bcahe · vache
  • baileabile · baiel · baille · balie · bbaile · biale · vaile

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "bache" and "baile" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈbat͡ʃe] versus [ˈbajle]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary Spanish text, does "bache" or "baile" show up more?
"baile" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,644 in our Spanish list, against #29,939 for "bache". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

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 "bache" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "baile" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #201,236 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "bache" and "baile" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "bache vs bane". 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 #201,236 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list