Which to use
“bad” and “baú” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #4,699
- “bad” frequency rank
- #13,895
- “baú” frequency rank
- 18594
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | bad | baú |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | banho | caixa retangular com tampa convexa e geralmente revestida de couro cru |
Where the eye mixes bad and baú
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses bad with baú
A purely visual mix-up. bad (/bɑt/) and baú (/ba.ˈu/) 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 a single letter - d in “bad” becomes ú in “baú”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 18594, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
bad is recorded at frequency rank #4,699, classified as anoun, pronounced /bɑt/. baú is at rank #13,895, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ba.ˈu/.
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 18594, this pair ranks #52,356 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of bad vs baú
Shared letters: ab. Private to "bad": d. Private to "baú": ú.
"bad" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "baú" · 3 letters · shape CVV
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "bad" and "baú" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "bad" vs "baú" - 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 "bad" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "baú" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #52,356 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "bad" and "baú" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "baú vs bué". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #52,356 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.