bandavsbasaConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#885
“banda” frequency rank
#3,757
“basa” frequency rank
4642
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature banda basa
Definition Grupo de personas con identidad colectiva. Asiento de la columna.

Where the eye mixes banda and basa

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

5 ch
banda
4 ch
basa

Visual trap between banda and basa

A purely visual mix-up. banda ([ˈbãn̪d̪a]) and basa ([ˈbasa]) 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 4642, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

banda is recorded at frequency rank #885, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈbãn̪d̪a]. 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 4642, this pair ranks #315,595 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of banda vs basa

Shared letters: ab. Private to "banda": dn. Private to "basa": s.

"banda" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV  ·  "basa" · 4 letters · shape CVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • bandaabnda · badna · banad · bandda · bannda · bbanda · bnada · vanda
  • basaabsa · baas · bassa · bbasa · bsaa · vasa

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "banda" and "basa" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈbãn̪d̪a] versus [ˈbasa]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "banda" or "basa"?
"banda" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #885 in our Spanish list, against #3,757 for "basa". 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 "banda" 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 #315,595 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "banda" and "basa" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "bane vs basa". 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 #315,595 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