Which to use
“bad” is a noun and “bon” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #4,699
- “bad” frequency rank
- #10,479
- “bon” frequency rank
- 15178
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | bad | bon |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | banho | bom |
Letter map: bad vs bon
Shared letters muted; letters that set bad and bon apart highlighted. Shared run: 1.
Role in the sentence - bad and bon
Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: bad is anoun and bonanadjective. On the page they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 15178, 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/. bon is at rank #10,479, tagged as anadj.
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 15178, this pair ranks #56,711 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of bad vs bon
Shared letters: b. Private to "bad": ad. Private to "bon": no.
"bad" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "bon" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "bad" and "bon" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary Portuguese text, does "bad" or "bon" show up more?
After this comparison
Done with this confusable. These links stay specific to "bad" and "bon".
- Full dictionary entry for "bad" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "bon" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #56,711 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "bad" and "bon" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "bon vs bué". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #56,711 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.