Which to use
“bans” and “biens” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #36,719
- “bans” frequency rank
- #1,851
- “biens” frequency rank
- 38570
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | bans | biens |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Pluriel de ban. | Pluriel de bien. |
Where the eye mixes bans and biens
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. bans runs 4 letters (CVCC) against biens's 5 (CVVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between bans and biens
A purely visual mix-up. bans (\bɑ̃\) and biens (\bjɛ̃\) 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 38570, 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\. biens is at rank #1,851, tagged as anoun, pronounced \bjɛ̃\.
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 38570, this pair ranks #254,368 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of bans vs biens
Shared letters: bns. Private to "bans": a. Private to "biens": ei.
"bans" · 4 letters · shape CVCC · "biens" · 5 letters · shape CVVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "bans" for "biens" ever safe?
In ordinary French text, does "bans" or "biens" show up more?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "bans" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "biens" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #254,368 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "bans" and "biens" 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 #254,368 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.