Which to use
“based” is an adjective and “bases” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #30,068
- “based” frequency rank
- #2,705
- “bases” frequency rank
- 32773
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | based | bases |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Louable et admirable, souvent en exprimant un point de vue controversé. | Pluriel de base. |
Where the eye mixes based and bases
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: based vs bases
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: based is \bɛjzd\ while bases is \baz\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - d in “based” becomes s in “bases”, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 32773, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
based is recorded at frequency rank #30,068, classified as anadj, pronounced \bɛjzd\. bases is at rank #2,705, tagged as anoun, pronounced \baz\.
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 32773, this pair ranks #295,062 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of based vs bases
Shared letters: abes. Private to "based": d. Private to "bases": -.
"based" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC · "bases" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "based" for "bases" ever safe?
Frequency check: "based" vs "bases" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "based" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "bases" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #295,062 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "based" and "bases" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "baisez vs based". 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 #295,062 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.