Which to use
“bans” is a noun and “bon” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #36,719
- “bans” frequency rank
- #108
- “bon” frequency rank
- 36827
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | bans | bon |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Pluriel de ban. | Qui a des qualités conformes à ce que l’on attendait. |
Where the eye mixes bans and bon
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: bans vs bon
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: bans is \bɑ̃\ while bon is \bɔ̃\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 36827, 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\. bon is at rank #108, tagged as anadj, pronounced \bɔ̃\.
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 36827, this pair ranks #266,871 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of bans vs bon
Shared letters: bn. Private to "bans": as. Private to "bon": o.
"bans" · 4 letters · shape CVCC · "bon" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- bans ← abns · banns · banss · basn · bbans · bnas
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "bans" and "bon" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary French text, does "bans" or "bon" show up more?
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 "bon" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #266,871 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "bans" and "bon" 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 #266,871 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.