Which to use
“BNP” is a name and “by” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #16,077
- “BNP” frequency rank
- #2,462
- “by” frequency rank
- 18539
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | BNP | by |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Ancienne banque française, qui a fusionné avec Paribas pour former BNP Paribas. | Fossé qui traverse un étang, aboutissant à sa bonde. |
Where the eye mixes BNP and by
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.
Visual trap between BNP and by
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: BNP is \be.ɛn.pe\ 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 (name vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 18539, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
BNP is recorded at frequency rank #16,077, classified as aname, pronounced \be.ɛn.pe\. 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 18539, this pair ranks #377,799 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of BNP vs by
Shared letters: b. Private to "BNP": np. Private to "by": y.
"BNP" · 3 letters · shape CCC · "by" · 2 letters · shape CV
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "BNP" and "by" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "BNP" vs "by" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "BNP" 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 #377,799 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "BNP" and "by" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "ber vs BNP". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #377,799 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.