Which to use
“bords” and “bourdes” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #5,527
- “bords” frequency rank
- #49,528
- “bourdes” frequency rank
- 55055
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | bords | bourdes |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Pluriel de bord. | Pluriel de bourde. |
Where the eye mixes bords and bourdes
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses bords with bourdes
A purely visual mix-up. bords (\bɔʁ\) and bourdes (\buʁd\) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 55055, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
bords is recorded at frequency rank #5,527, classified as anoun, pronounced \bɔʁ\. bourdes is at rank #49,528, tagged as anoun, pronounced \buʁd\.
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 55055, this pair ranks #129,949 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of bords vs bourdes
Shared letters: bdors. Private to "bords": -. Private to "bourdes": eu.
"bords" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC · "bourdes" · 7 letters · shape CVVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "bords" for "bourdes" ever safe?
Frequency check: "bords" vs "bourdes" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "bords" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "bourdes" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #129,949 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "bords" and "bourdes" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "bordés vs bourdes". 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 #129,949 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.