batesvsbusesWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#23,320
“bates” frequency rank
#10,797
“buses” frequency rank
34117
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature bates buses
Definition Forma del plural de bate. Forma del plural de bus.

Where the eye mixes bates and buses

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

5 ch
bates
5 ch
buses

Why the eye confuses bates with buses

A purely visual mix-up. bates ([ˈbat̪es]) and buses ([ˈbuses]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 34117, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

bates is recorded at frequency rank #23,320, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈbat̪es]. buses is at rank #10,797, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈbuses].

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 34117, this pair ranks #193,182 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of bates vs buses

Shared letters: bes. Private to "bates": at. Private to "buses": u.

"bates" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC  ·  "buses" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • batesabtes · baets · batess · batse · battes · bbates · btaes · vates
  • busesbbuses · bsues · buces · buess · busess · busse · busses · ubses

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "bates" and "buses" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈbat̪es] versus [ˈbuses]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "bates" or "buses"?
"buses" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #10,797 in our Spanish list, against #23,320 for "bates". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Eye-level mix-up between "bates" and "buses" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "bates" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "buses" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #193,182 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "bates" and "buses" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "bane vs bates". 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 #193,182 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