banquevsbuqueConfusable pair

Quick tell: banque is a verb, buque is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“banque” is a verb and “buque” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#33,441
“banque” frequency rank
#6,381
“buque” frequency rank
39822
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature banque buque
Definition Primera persona del singular (yo) del presente de subjuntivo de bancar. Barco de gran tamaño usado como nave de guerra, transporte o comercio a grandes distancias.

Where the eye mixes banque and buque

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.

6 ch
banque
5 ch
buque

Look-alike desk: banque vs buque

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: banque is [ˈbãŋke] while buque is [ˈbuke]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 39822, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

banque is recorded at frequency rank #33,441, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈbãŋke]. buque is at rank #6,381, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈbuke].

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 39822, this pair ranks #162,456 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of banque vs buque

Shared letters: bequ. Private to "banque": an. Private to "buque": -.

"banque" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVV  ·  "buque" · 5 letters · shape CVCVV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • banqueabnque · bannque · banqeu · banqque · banuqe · baqnue · bbanque · bnaque
  • buquebbuque · bquue · buqeu · buqque · buuqe · ubque · vuque

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "banque" and "buque" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "banque" is a verb and "buque" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "banque" or "buque"?
"buque" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #6,381 in our Spanish list, against #33,441 for "banque". 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 "banque" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "buque" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #162,456 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "banque" and "buque" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "bane vs banque". 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 #162,456 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