bajovsbaneWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: bajo is a preposition, bane is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“bajo” is a preposition and “bane” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#207
“bajo” frequency rank
#49,461
“bane” frequency rank
49668
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature bajo bane
Definition Denota una posición inferior. Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de banir.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set bajo and bane apart are highlighted. They share 2 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch
bajo
4 ch
bane

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: bajo is [ˈbaxo] while bane is [ˈbane]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (preposition vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 49668, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

bajo is recorded at frequency rank #207, classified as aprep, pronounced [ˈbaxo]. bane is at rank #49,461, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈbane].

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 49668, this pair ranks #107,532 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of bajo vs bane

Shared letters: ab. Private to "bajo": jo. Private to "bane": en.

"bajo" · 4 letters · shape CVCV  ·  "bane" · 4 letters · shape CVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • bajoabjo · bajjo · baoj · bbajo · bjao · vajo
  • baneabne · banne · bbane · bnae · vane

Frequency comparison

bajo#207
bane#49,461

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "bajo" and "bane" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "bajo" is a preposition and "bane" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "bajo" or "bane"?
"bajo" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #207 in our Spanish list, against #49,461 for "bane". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering bajo vs bane

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a preposition, it's “bajo”; for a verb, it's “bane”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “bajo” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list