Which to use
“bad” and “by” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #5,525
- “bad” frequency rank
- #2,462
- “by” frequency rank
- 7987
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | bad | by |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Badminton. | Fossé qui traverse un étang, aboutissant à sa bonde. |
Where the eye mixes bad and by
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.
Visual trap between bad and by
A purely visual mix-up. bad (\bad\) and by (\bi\) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 7987, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
bad is recorded at frequency rank #5,525, classified as anoun, pronounced \bad\. by is at rank #2,462, tagged as anoun, pronounced \bi\.
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 7987, this pair ranks #421,494 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of bad vs by
Shared letters: b. Private to "bad": ad. Private to "by": y.
"bad" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "by" · 2 letters · shape CV
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "bad" and "by" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "bad" or "by"?
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 "bad" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "by" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #421,494 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "bad" and "by" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "bad vs bold". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #421,494 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.