Which to use
“baía” and “baús” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #7,499
- “baía” frequency rank
- #47,199
- “baús” frequency rank
- 54698
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | baía | baús |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | acidente geográfico em que uma porção de mar avança para dentro do continente, como se estivesse sendo abocanhada; é maior do que a enseada e menor do que o golfo | plural de baú |
Where the eye mixes baía and baús
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses baía with baús
A purely visual mix-up. baía (/bɐ.ˈi.ɐ/) and baús (/bɐ.ˈu/) 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 54698, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
baía is recorded at frequency rank #7,499, classified as anoun, pronounced /bɐ.ˈi.ɐ/. 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 54698, this pair ranks #11,089 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of baía vs baús
Shared letters: ab. Private to "baía": í. Private to "baús": sú.
"baía" · 4 letters · shape CVVV · "baús" · 4 letters · shape CVVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "baía" for "baús" ever safe?
Which is more common, "baía" or "baús"?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "baía" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "baús" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #11,089 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "baía" and "baús" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "baús vs bué". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #11,089 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.