Which to use
“bon” is an adjective and “by” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #108
- “bon” frequency rank
- #2,462
- “by” frequency rank
- 2570
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | bon | by |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Qui a des qualités conformes à ce que l’on attendait. | Fossé qui traverse un étang, aboutissant à sa bonde. |
Where the eye mixes bon and by
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.
Look-alike desk: bon vs by
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: bon is \bɔ̃\ 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 (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 2570, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
bon is recorded at frequency rank #108, classified as anadj, pronounced \bɔ̃\. 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 2570, this pair ranks #435,887 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of bon vs by
Shared letters: b. Private to "bon": no. Private to "by": y.
"bon" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "by" · 2 letters · shape CV
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "bon" for "by" ever safe?
Which is more common, "bon" or "by"?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "bon" and "by" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "bon" 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 #435,887 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "bon" and "by" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "bury vs by". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #435,887 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.