Which to use
“back” and “bak” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #5,632
- “back” frequency rank
- #46,599
- “bak” frequency rank
- 52231
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | back | bak |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Deuxième personne du singulier du présent de l’impératif à la forme active de backen. | Forme mutée de pak par adoucissement (p → b). |
Same sound, different letters: back vs bak
Muted letters are shared; highlighted letters are the only spelling cue when pronunciation matches. Shared run: 3 letters.
Ear matches; page differs - back and bak
This is the hard kind. back and bak are pronounced identically (\bak\) and both work as averb. Neither the ear nor the grammar will rescue you; only the meaning does, so the glosses below are the whole decision. They differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 52231, 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\. bak is at rank #46,599, tagged as averb, pronounced \ˈbakː\.
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 52231, this pair ranks #149,162 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of back vs bak
Shared letters: abk. Private to "back": c. Private to "bak": -.
"back" · 4 letters · shape CVCC · "bak" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- back ← abck · bacck · backk · bakc · bback · bcak
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "back" and "bak" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "back" or "bak"?
Useful next steps
Sound matches; spelling doesn't. Use the exits below to lock the right form or check a cousin pair.
- Full dictionary entry for "back" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "bak" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #149,162 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "back" and "bak" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "bak vs ber". 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 #149,162 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.