Which to use
“bin” is an adverb and “by” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #10,119
- “bin” frequency rank
- #2,462
- “by” frequency rank
- 12581
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | bin | by |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Variante de bien. | Fossé qui traverse un étang, aboutissant à sa bonde. |
Where the eye mixes bin and by
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.
Why the eye confuses bin with by
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: bin is \bɛ̃\ while by is \bi\. 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 noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 12581, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
bin is recorded at frequency rank #10,119, classified as anadv, pronounced \bɛ̃\. by is at rank #2,462, tagged as anoun, pronounced \bi\.
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 12581, this pair ranks #404,626 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of bin vs by
Shared letters: b. Private to "bin": in. Private to "by": y.
"bin" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "by" · 2 letters · shape CV
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "bin" and "by" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary French text, does "bin" or "by" show up more?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "bin" and "by" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "bin" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "by" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #404,626 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "bin" and "by" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "ber vs bin". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #404,626 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.