baivsbaúsWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: bai is a preposition, baús is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“bai” is a preposition and “baús” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#27,371
“bai” frequency rank
#47,199
“baús” frequency rank
74570
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature bai baús
Definition de acordo com; conforme plural de baú

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set bai and baús apart are highlighted. They share 2 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

3 ch
bai
4 ch
baús

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: bai is /ba.ˈi/ while baús is /bɐ.ˈu/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (preposition vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 74570, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

bai is recorded at frequency rank #27,371, classified as aprep, pronounced /ba.ˈi/. baús is at rank #47,199, tagged as anoun, pronounced /bɐ.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 74570, this pair ranks #2,495 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of bai vs baús

Shared letters: ab. Private to "bai": i. Private to "baús": .

"bai" · 3 letters · shape CVV  ·  "baús" · 4 letters · shape CVVC

Frequency comparison

bai#27,371
baús#47,199

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "bai" and "baús" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "bai" is a preposition and "baús" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "bai" or "baús"?
"bai" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #27,371 in our Portuguese list, against #47,199 for "baús". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering bai vs baús

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a preposition, it's “bai”; for a noun, it's “baús”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “bai” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list