bilanvsblasWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: bilan is a noun, blas is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“bilan” is a noun and “blas” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#2,026
“bilan” frequency rank
#36,276
“blas” frequency rank
38302
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature bilan blas
Definition Récapitulatif. Deuxième personne du singulier de l’impératif présent de blasen.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set bilan and blas apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
bilan
4 ch
blas

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: bilan is \bi.lɑ̃\ while blas is \blaːs\. 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 (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 38302, 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\. blas is at rank #36,276, tagged as averb, pronounced \blaːs\.

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 38302, this pair ranks #256,226 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of bilan vs blas

Shared letters: abl. Private to "bilan": in. Private to "blas": s.

"bilan" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC  ·  "blas" · 4 letters · shape CCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • bilanbbilan · bialn · bilann · billan · bilna · blian · iblan
  • blasbblas · blass · bllas · blsa

Frequency comparison

bilan#2,026
blas#36,276

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "bilan" and "blas" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "bilan" is a noun and "blas" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "bilan" or "blas"?
"bilan" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,026 in our French list, against #36,276 for "blas". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering bilan vs blas

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “bilan”; for a verb, it's “blas”.
  • 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