bandvsbaneWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#18,754
“band” frequency rank
#49,461
“bane” frequency rank
68215
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature band bane
Definition Primera y tercera personas del singular del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de binden Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de banir.

Where the eye mixes band and bane

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. band (CVCC) and bane (CVCV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.

4 ch
band
4 ch
bane

Why the eye confuses band with bane

A purely visual mix-up. band ([bant]) and bane ([ˈbane]) 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 a single letter - d in “band” becomes e in “bane”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 68215, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

band is recorded at frequency rank #18,754, classified as averb, pronounced [bant]. 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 68215, this pair ranks #35,090 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of band vs bane

Shared letters: abn. Private to "band": d. Private to "bane": e.

"band" · 4 letters · shape CVCC  ·  "bane" · 4 letters · shape CVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • band ← abnd · badn · bandd · bannd · bband · bnad · vand
  • bane ← abne · banne · bbane · bnae · vane

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "band" and "bane" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([bant] versus [ˈbane]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "band" vs "bane" - which ranks higher?
"band" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #18,754 in our Spanish list, against #49,461 for "bane". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "band" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "bane" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #35,090 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "band" and "bane" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "bane vs brie". 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 #35,090 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