bilanvsblankWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“bilan” and “blank” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#2,026
“bilan” frequency rank
#44,898
“blank” frequency rank
46924
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature bilan blank
Definition Récapitulatif. Partie principale d’une canne à lancer, faite d’un ou plusieurs brins en bambou, fibre de verre ou de carbone...

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set bilan and blank apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
bilan
5 ch
blank

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. bilan (\bi.lɑ̃\) and blank (\blɑ̃k\) 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 4 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 46924, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

bilan is recorded at frequency rank #2,026, classified as anoun, pronounced \bi.lɑ̃\. blank is at rank #44,898, tagged as anoun, pronounced \blɑ̃k\.

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 46924, this pair ranks #190,977 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of bilan vs blank

Shared letters: abln. Private to "bilan": i. Private to "blank": k.

"bilan" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC  ·  "blank" · 5 letters · shape CCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • bilanbbilan · bialn · bilann · billan · bilna · blian · iblan
  • blankbalnk · bblank · blakn · blankk · blannk · bllank · blnak · lbank

Frequency comparison

bilan#2,026
blank#44,898

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "bilan" and "blank" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\bi.lɑ̃\ versus \blɑ̃k\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "bilan" or "blank"?
"bilan" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,026 in our French list, against #44,898 for "blank". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering bilan vs blank

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “bilan” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list