Which to use
“bis” and “bon” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #7,530
- “bis” frequency rank
- #108
- “bon” frequency rank
- 7638
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | bis | bon |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Qui est d’un gris beige foncé #766F64 ou clair #F1E2BE. | Qui a des qualités conformes à ce que l’on attendait. |
Where the eye mixes bis and bon
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.
Visual trap between bis and bon
A purely visual mix-up. bis (\bi\) and bon (\bɔ̃\) 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 7638, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
bis is recorded at frequency rank #7,530, classified as anadj, pronounced \bi\. bon is at rank #108, tagged as anadj, pronounced \bɔ̃\.
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 7638, this pair ranks #422,574 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of bis vs bon
Shared letters: b. Private to "bis": is. Private to "bon": no.
"bis" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "bon" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "bis" for "bon" ever safe?
In ordinary French text, does "bis" or "bon" show up more?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "bis" and "bon" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "bis" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "bon" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #422,574 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "bis" and "bon" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "ber vs bis". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #422,574 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.