Which to use
“back” is a verb and “backup” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #5,632
- “back” frequency rank
- #41,662
- “backup” frequency rank
- 47294
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | back | backup |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Deuxième personne du singulier du présent de l’impératif à la forme active de backen. | Sauvegarde de données. |
Where the eye mixes back and backup
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between back and backup
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: back is \bak\ while backup is \ba.kœp\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “back” sits inside “backup”, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 47294, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
back is recorded at frequency rank #5,632, classified as averb, pronounced \bak\. backup is at rank #41,662, tagged as anoun, pronounced \ba.kœp\.
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 47294, this pair ranks #188,088 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of back vs backup
Shared letters: abck. Private to "back": -. Private to "backup": pu.
"back" · 4 letters · shape CVCC · "backup" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "back" and "backup" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "back" or "backup"?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "back" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "backup" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #188,088 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "back" and "backup" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "back vs bafa". 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 #188,088 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.