Which to use
“bien” is an adverb and “bihan” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #53
- “bien” frequency rank
- #48,363
- “bihan” frequency rank
- 48416
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | bien | bihan |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Marque un certain degré de perfection et d’utilité. | Petit. |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set bien and bihan apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: bien is \bjɛ̃\ while bihan is \ˈbi(h)ː.ãn\. 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 (adverb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 48416, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
bien is recorded at frequency rank #53, classified as anadv, pronounced \bjɛ̃\. bihan is at rank #48,363, tagged as anadj, pronounced \ˈbi(h)ː.ãn\.
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 48416, this pair ranks #179,127 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of bien vs bihan
Shared letters: bin. Private to "bien": e. Private to "bihan": ah.
"bien" · 4 letters · shape CVVC · "bihan" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "bien" and "bihan" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "bien" or "bihan"?
Remembering bien vs bihan
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need an adverb, it's “bien”; for an adjective, it's “bihan”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “bien” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable