bou

/ˈbɔ̞w/

//ˈbɔ̞w// noun

The verdict

“bou” is uncommon Portuguese (frequency #52,002 among 840 “B” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#52,002
frequency rank, Portuguese
840
“B” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - boi (Bos taurus)

Corpus desk

Index PT-bou · bou · Portuguese

bou · rank #52,002 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #52,002
  • LEN-MID 3 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 840
  • PHOTO-FINISH Basis

Nearest frequency peer: Basis (-6 rank slots)

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Ranks da cauda longa perto de “bou”

Faixa escassa: as barras invertem o rank para o raro ler-se mais curto

corpus weight

What this shows Vista da cauda longa: onde “bou” se situa face a ranks portugueses igualmente raros.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for bou
PropertyValue
Headwordbou
LanguagePortuguese
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈbɔ̞w/
Letters3
Frequency rank#52,002
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Cauda longa: rank de “bou” em português

A frequência vai do punhado de palavras do dia a dia (esquerda) à cauda longa quase nunca usada (direita).boucai nesta cauda de raridade:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

O eixo é logarítmico: cada tick marca cerca de dez vezes menos frequência. Vizinhos raros da mesma faixa: “Basis” (#51,996), “barn” (#51,994), “cabaço” (#52,010). Entre 840 lemas com “B”, “bou” fica em #52,002. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

bou is uncommon Portuguese at frequency #52,002 among 840 “B” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈbɔ̞w/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 6 senses are on record.

No generated misspelling entries exist for bou in our index, suggesting the orthography follows predictable Portuguese patterns. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.

No documented word history exists for this headword, so its spelling is easiest explained by how it's pronounced rather than where it came from. The correct Portuguese form is bou, spelled B-O-U.

Definition

  1. 1
    boi (Bos taurus)
  2. 2
    touro, boi que não foi castrado
  3. 3
    carne de boi usada como alimento
  4. 4
    caranguejola (Cancer pagurus)
  5. 5
    arrastão, espécie de redepara pesca
  6. 6
    arrastão, barco que opera tais redes

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

These source excerpts show how bou appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Els bous són remugants.

Synonyms

brautoroart del boubarca del bou

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 Portuguese corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "bou"?
"bou" is spelled B-O-U. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈbɔ̞w/.
What does "bou" mean?
As a noun, "bou" means: boi (Bos taurus)
How do you pronounce "bou"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "bou" is /ˈbɔ̞w/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "bou" come from?
"bou" is a Portuguese word. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for this and other words across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German on PlainSpell.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar Portuguese words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "bou", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked Portuguese headwords with 3 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list