Which to use
“banque” and “barque” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #1,134
- “banque” frequency rank
- #15,097
- “barque” frequency rank
- 16231
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | banque | barque |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Commerce de l'argent et du crédit qui consiste à recevoir des capitaux en compte courant avec ou sans intérêt ; à échanger des effets ou à les escompter avec des espèces, à des taux et moyennant des commissions variables ; à exécuter pour le compte de tiers toutes opérations de ce genre et à se charger de tous services financiers ; à créer et à émettre des lettres de change ; d’une façon générale, commercer de l’argent, ainsi que des titres et valeurs. | Petit bateau. |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set banque and barque apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
A purely visual mix-up. banque (\bɑ̃k\) and barque (\baʁk\) 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 a single letter - n in “banque” becomes r in “barque”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 16231, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
banque is recorded at frequency rank #1,134, classified as anoun, pronounced \bɑ̃k\. barque is at rank #15,097, tagged as anoun, pronounced \baʁk\.
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 16231, this pair ranks #388,787 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of banque vs barque
Shared letters: abequ. Private to "banque": n. Private to "barque": r.
"banque" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVV · "barque" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "banque" and "barque" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "banque" or "barque"?
Remembering banque vs barque
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “banque” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable