banevsbarreWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#49,461
“bane” frequency rank
#30,779
“barre” frequency rank
80240
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature bane barre
Definition Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de banir. Primera persona del singular (yo) del presente de subjuntivo de barrar.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set bane and barre apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch
bane
5 ch
barre

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. bane ([ˈbane]) and barre ([ˈbare]) 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 80240, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

bane is recorded at frequency rank #49,461, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈbane]. barre is at rank #30,779, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈbare].

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 80240, this pair ranks #11,941 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of bane vs barre

Shared letters: abe. Private to "bane": n. Private to "barre": r.

"bane" · 4 letters · shape CVCV  ·  "barre" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • baneabne · banne · bbane · bnae · vane
  • barrebbarre · brare · varre

Frequency comparison

bane#49,461
barre#30,779

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "bane" and "barre" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈbane] versus [ˈbare]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "bane" or "barre"?
"barre" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #30,779 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.

Remembering bane vs barre

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “bane” 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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list