Which to use
“ban” and “blank” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #6,466
- “ban” frequency rank
- #44,898
- “blank” frequency rank
- 51364
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | ban | blank |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Proclamation pour ordonner ou défendre quelque chose. | Partie principale d’une canne à lancer, faite d’un ou plusieurs brins en bambou, fibre de verre ou de carbone... |
Where the eye mixes ban and blank
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses ban with blank
A purely visual mix-up. ban (\bɑ̃\) and blank (\blɑ̃k\) 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 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 51364, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
ban is recorded at frequency rank #6,466, classified as anoun, pronounced \bɑ̃\. blank is at rank #44,898, tagged as anoun, pronounced \blɑ̃k\.
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 51364, this pair ranks #155,589 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of ban vs blank
Shared letters: abn. Private to "ban": -. Private to "blank": kl.
"ban" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "blank" · 5 letters · shape CCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
- blank ← balnk · bblank · blakn · blankk · blannk · bllank · blnak · lbank
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "ban" and "blank" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "ban" vs "blank" - 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 "ban" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "blank" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #155,589 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "ban" and "blank" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "bane vs blank". 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 #155,589 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.