Which to use
“blé” is a noun and “bon” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #5,427
- “blé” frequency rank
- #108
- “bon” frequency rank
- 5535
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | blé | bon |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Terme générique qui désigne plusieurs céréales appartenant au genre Triticum. Ce sont des plantes annuelles de la famille des graminées ou Poacées, cultivées dans de très nombreux pays pour obtenir de la farine permettant de faire du pain. | Qui a des qualités conformes à ce que l’on attendait. |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set blé and bon apart are highlighted. They share 1 letter 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: blé is \ble\ while bon is \bɔ̃\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 5535, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
blé is recorded at frequency rank #5,427, classified as anoun, pronounced \ble\. 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 5535, this pair ranks #428,744 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of blé vs bon
Shared letters: b. Private to "blé": lé. Private to "bon": no.
"blé" · 3 letters · shape CCV · "bon" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "blé" and "bon" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "blé" or "bon"?
Remembering blé vs bon
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “blé”; for an adjective, it's “bon”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “blé” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable