bailesvsbatesTell them apart

Which to use

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

#9,245
“bailes” frequency rank
#23,320
“bates” frequency rank
32565
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature bailes bates
Definition Forma del plural de baile. Forma del plural de bate.

Where the eye mixes bailes and bates

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.

6 ch
bailes
5 ch
bates

Look-alike desk: bailes vs bates

A purely visual mix-up. bailes ([ˈbajles]) and bates ([ˈbat̪es]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 32565, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

bailes is recorded at frequency rank #9,245, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈbajles]. bates is at rank #23,320, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈbat̪es].

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 32565, this pair ranks #201,331 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of bailes vs bates

Shared letters: abes. Private to "bailes": il. Private to "bates": t.

"bailes" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC  ·  "bates" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • bailesabiles · baiels · bailess · bailles · bailse · balies · bbailes · biales
  • batesabtes · baets · batess · batse · battes · bbates · btaes · vates

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "bailes" and "bates" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈbajles] versus [ˈbat̪es]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "bailes" or "bates"?
"bailes" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #9,245 in our Spanish list, against #23,320 for "bates". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "bailes" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "bates" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #201,331 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "bailes" and "bates" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "bane vs bates". 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 #201,331 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