Which to use
“bons” is an adjective and “box” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #933
- “bons” frequency rank
- #4,314
- “box” frequency rank
- 5247
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | bons | box |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Masculin pluriel de bon. | Compartiment disposé dans les écuries ou les étables pour isoler les animaux et les y tenir libres et sans attaches. |
Where the eye mixes bons and box
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between bons and box
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: bons is \bɔ̃\ while box is \bɔks\. 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 5247, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
bons is recorded at frequency rank #933, classified as anadj, pronounced \bɔ̃\. box is at rank #4,314, 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 5247, this pair ranks #429,533 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of bons vs box
Shared letters: bo. Private to "bons": ns. Private to "box": x.
"bons" · 4 letters · shape CVCC · "box" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- bons ← bbons · bnos · bonns · bonss · bosn · obns
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "bons" and "box" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary French text, does "bons" or "box" show up more?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "bons" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "box" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #429,533 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "bons" and "box" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "bold vs box". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #429,533 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.