Which to use
“bastide” and “bastion” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #24,873
- “bastide” frequency rank
- #14,611
- “bastion” frequency rank
- 39484
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | bastide | bastion |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Élément de fortification. | Ouvrage de fortification qui fait partie de l’enceinte du corps d’une place : il présente en saillie deux faces et deux flancs. Il est relié à l’enceinte par ces derniers. |
Where the eye mixes bastide and bastion
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses bastide with bastion
A purely visual mix-up. bastide (\bas.tid\) and bastion (\bas.tjɔ̃\) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 39484, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
bastide is recorded at frequency rank #24,873, classified as anoun, pronounced \bas.tid\. bastion is at rank #14,611, tagged as anoun, pronounced \bas.tjɔ̃\.
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 39484, this pair ranks #247,603 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of bastide vs bastion
Shared letters: abist. Private to "bastide": de. Private to "bastion": no.
"bastide" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCV · "bastion" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "bastide" for "bastion" ever safe?
Frequency check: "bastide" vs "bastion" - which ranks higher?
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 "bastide" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "bastion" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #247,603 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "bastide" and "bastion" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "bastian vs bastide". 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 #247,603 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.