bailavsbasaWhich spelling fits?

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

Which to use

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

#9,409
“baila” frequency rank
#3,757
“basa” frequency rank
13166
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature baila basa
Definition Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de bailar. Asiento de la columna.

Where the eye mixes baila and basa

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

5 ch
baila
4 ch
basa

Look-alike desk: baila vs basa

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: baila is [ˈbajla] while basa is [ˈbasa]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 13166, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

baila is recorded at frequency rank #9,409, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈbajla]. basa is at rank #3,757, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈbasa].

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 13166, this pair ranks #288,872 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of baila vs basa

Shared letters: ab. Private to "baila": il. Private to "basa": s.

"baila" · 5 letters · shape CVVCV  ·  "basa" · 4 letters · shape CVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • bailaabila · baial · bailla · balia · bbaila · biala · vaila
  • basaabsa · baas · bassa · bbasa · bsaa · vasa

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "baila" and "basa" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "baila" is a verb and "basa" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "baila" or "basa"?
"basa" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,757 in our Spanish list, against #9,409 for "baila". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

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 "baila" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "basa" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #288,872 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "baila" and "basa" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "baila vs bain". 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 #288,872 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