baivsbokWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#27,371
“bai” frequency rank
#41,372
“bok” frequency rank
68743
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature bai bok
Definition de acordo com; conforme bode

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set bai and bok apart are highlighted. They share 1 letter in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

3 ch
bai
3 ch
bok

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: bai is /ba.ˈi/ while bok is /bɔk/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (preposition vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 68743, 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/. bok is at rank #41,372, tagged as anoun, pronounced /bɔk/.

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 68743, this pair ranks #4,189 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of bai vs bok

Shared letters: b. Private to "bai": ai. Private to "bok": ko.

"bai" · 3 letters · shape CVV  ·  "bok" · 3 letters · shape CVC

Frequency comparison

bai#27,371
bok#41,372

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "bai" and "bok" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "bai" is a preposition and "bok" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "bai" or "bok"?
"bai" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #27,371 in our Portuguese list, against #41,372 for "bok". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering bai vs bok

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 “bok”.
  • 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