Which to use
“bain” and “bane” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #2,309
- “bain” frequency rank
- #47,740
- “bane” frequency rank
- 50049
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | bain | bane |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Action de baigner ou de se baigner. | Hotte pour les vendanges. |
Where the eye mixes bain and bane
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between bain and bane
A purely visual mix-up. bain (\bɛ̃\) and bane (\ban\) 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 50049, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
bain is recorded at frequency rank #2,309, classified as anoun, pronounced \bɛ̃\. bane is at rank #47,740, tagged as anoun, pronounced \ban\.
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 50049, this pair ranks #165,687 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of bain vs bane
Shared letters: abn. Private to "bain": i. Private to "bane": e.
"bain" · 4 letters · shape CVVC · "bane" · 4 letters · shape CVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "bain" for "bane" ever safe?
Frequency check: "bain" vs "bane" - which ranks higher?
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 "bain" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "bane" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #165,687 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "bain" and "bane" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "bafa vs bane". 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 #165,687 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.