Which to use
“bidons” and “bilans” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #19,756
- “bidons” frequency rank
- #18,663
- “bilans” frequency rank
- 38419
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | bidons | bilans |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Pluriel de bidon. | Pluriel de bilan. |
Where the eye mixes bidons and bilans
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between bidons and bilans
A purely visual mix-up. bidons (\bi.dɔ̃\) and bilans (\bi.lɑ̃\) 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 38419, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
bidons is recorded at frequency rank #19,756, classified as anoun, pronounced \bi.dɔ̃\. bilans is at rank #18,663, tagged as anoun, pronounced \bi.lɑ̃\.
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 38419, this pair ranks #255,376 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of bidons vs bilans
Shared letters: bins. Private to "bidons": do. Private to "bilans": al.
"bidons" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCC · "bilans" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "bidons" and "bilans" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "bidons" or "bilans"?
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 "bidons" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "bilans" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #255,376 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "bidons" and "bilans" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "bihan vs bilans". 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 #255,376 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.