Which to use
“bans” and “bâtons” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #36,719
- “bans” frequency rank
- #12,117
- “bâtons” frequency rank
- 48836
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | bans | bâtons |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Pluriel de ban. | Pluriel de bâton. |
Where the eye mixes bans and bâtons
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. bans runs 4 letters (CVCC) against bâtons's 6 (CVCVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: bans vs bâtons
A purely visual mix-up. bans (\bɑ̃\) and bâtons (\bɑ.tɔ̃\) 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 48836, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
bans is recorded at frequency rank #36,719, classified as anoun, pronounced \bɑ̃\. bâtons is at rank #12,117, tagged as anoun, pronounced \bɑ.tɔ̃\.
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 48836, this pair ranks #175,669 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of bans vs bâtons
Shared letters: bns. Private to "bans": a. Private to "bâtons": otâ.
"bans" · 4 letters · shape CVCC · "bâtons" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
- bans ← abns · banns · banss · basn · bbans · bnas
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "bans" for "bâtons" ever safe?
Frequency check: "bans" vs "bâtons" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "bans" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "bâtons" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #175,669 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "bans" and "bâtons" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "banals vs bans". 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 #175,669 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.