bondsvsboxesWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“bonds” and “boxes” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#27,343
“bonds” frequency rank
#41,683
“boxes” frequency rank
69026
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature bonds boxes
Definition Pluriel de bond. Pluriel de boxe.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set bonds and boxes apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
bonds
5 ch
boxes

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. bonds (\bɔ̃\) and boxes (\bɔks\) 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 69026, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

bonds is recorded at frequency rank #27,343, classified as anoun, pronounced \bɔ̃\. boxes is at rank #41,683, tagged as anoun, pronounced \bɔks\.

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 69026, this pair ranks #56,777 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of bonds vs boxes

Shared letters: bos. Private to "bonds": dn. Private to "boxes": ex.

"bonds" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC  ·  "boxes" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • bondsbbonds · bnods · bodns · bondds · bondss · bonnds · bonsd · obnds
  • boxesbboxes · boexs · boxess · boxse · boxxes · bxoes · obxes

Frequency comparison

bonds#27,343
boxes#41,683

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "bonds" and "boxes" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\bɔ̃\ versus \bɔks\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "bonds" or "boxes"?
"bonds" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #27,343 in our French list, against #41,683 for "boxes". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering bonds vs boxes

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “bonds” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list