both

\ˈboʊθ\

/\ˈboʊθ\/ conj

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

The verdict

“both” has 6 generated spelling variants in the French index at frequency #34,438. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#34,438
frequency rank, French
4,251
“B” headwords
6
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - À la fois, en même temps.

Corpus desk

Index FR-both · both · French

both · rank #34,438 · 6 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #34,438
  • LEN-MID 4 letters
  • VOW-1 1 vowel
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 6 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,251
  • PHOTO-FINISH blida

Nearest frequency peer: blida (-1 rank slots)

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Pairs de rang près de l'aimant d'erreurs « both »

Même bande de rareté: utile si une faute tombe sur un lemme voisin

corpus weight

What this shows « both » siège parmi ces pairs FrequencyWords; la profondeur des fautes est suivie à part dans le graphique d'édition.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

both vs BT
0% similar
both vs but
50% similar
both vs box
50% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for both
PropertyValue
Headwordboth
LanguageFrench
Part of speechConjunction
IPA\ˈboʊθ\
Letters4
Frequency rank#34,438
Misspellings tracked6
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Fréquence de l'aimant d'erreurs « both »

Cette échelle va du noyau du français courant (gauche) jusqu'à la traîne des formes rares (droite).bothse place ici:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

L'axe est logarithmique: chaque tic marque environ dix fois moins de fréquence. Dans la même bande de rareté figurent « blida » (#34,437), « Bourgoin » (#34,439), « bivouac » (#34,436). Parmi 4,251 lemmes en « B », « both » est au #34,438. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 6 spelling variants around both (IPA \ˈboʊθ\), aconjunction. Corpus frequency is #34,438 among 4,251 “B” headwords. Dominant gloss: "À la fois, en même temps.".

Our generated misspelling index lists 6 likely wrong-spelling variants for both, with forms such as "bboth", "boht", and "bothh". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "BT", "but", "box", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

No documented word history exists for this headword, so its spelling pattern is best understood through pronunciation rather than a traceable origin. The correct French form is both, spelled B-O-T-H.

Definition

  1. 1
    À la fois, en même temps.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how both appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. He is both smart and good-looking.
  2. I have fallen insensibly into this habit, both because it favours my infirmity and because it affords me greater opportunity of speculating on the characters and occupations of those who fill the streets.

Synonyms

at the same time

Antonyms

neither

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • bboth
  • boht
  • bothh
  • botth
  • btoh
  • obth

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of both - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

bboth1boht2bothh1botth1btoh2obth2
Edit distance from "both"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 French corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "both"?
"both" is spelled B-O-T-H. The IPA pronunciation is \ˈboʊθ\.
What does "both" mean?
As a conjunction, "both" means: À la fois, en même temps.
What words are commonly confused with "both"?
"both" is commonly confused with "BT", "but", "box". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "both"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "both" is \ˈboʊθ\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "both" come from?
"both" is a French word. PlainSpell's reference spans five languages -- English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German -- with definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for each.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar French words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "both", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked French headwords with 4 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

bete#34,434Arno#34,422alia#34,399crow#34,485

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (6 here; floor ≥5).

ardue6 variantsDaoud6 variantsabois6 variantsUzès6 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list