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 eye mixes bane and barre
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. bane runs 4 letters (CVCV) against barre's 5 (CVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses bane with barre
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
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "bane" and "barre" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "bane" vs "barre" - which ranks higher?
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 "bane" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "barre" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #11,941 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "bane" and "barre" 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 #11,941 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.