Which to use
“bad” and “boy” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #4,699
- “bad” frequency rank
- #3,884
- “boy” frequency rank
- 8583
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | bad | boy |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | banho | garoto, rapaz, jovem |
Where the eye mixes bad and boy
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.
Visual trap between bad and boy
A purely visual mix-up. bad (/bɑt/) and boy (/bɔɪ/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 8583, 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/. boy is at rank #3,884, tagged as anoun, pronounced /bɔɪ/.
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 8583, this pair ranks #65,138 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of bad vs boy
Shared letters: b. Private to "bad": ad. Private to "boy": oy.
"bad" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "boy" · 3 letters · shape CVV
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "bad" and "boy" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "bad" vs "boy" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "bad" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "boy" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #65,138 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "bad" and "boy" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "bad vs bué". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #65,138 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.