Which to use
“baila” and “bainha” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #35,025
- “baila” frequency rank
- #30,011
- “bainha” frequency rank
- 65036
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | baila | bainha |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | baile | estojo de metal ou couro onde se enfia a lâmina de uma arma branca |
Where the eye mixes baila and bainha
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. baila runs 5 letters (CVVCV) against bainha's 6 (CVVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses baila with bainha
A purely visual mix-up. baila (/ˈbaj.lɐ/) and bainha (/bɐ.ˈi.ɲɐ/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 65036, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
baila is recorded at frequency rank #35,025, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈbaj.lɐ/. bainha is at rank #30,011, tagged as anoun, pronounced /bɐ.ˈi.ɲɐ/.
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 65036, this pair ranks #5,548 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of baila vs bainha
Shared letters: abi. Private to "baila": l. Private to "bainha": hn.
"baila" · 5 letters · shape CVVCV · "bainha" · 6 letters · shape CVVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "baila" and "bainha" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "baila" or "bainha"?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "baila" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "bainha" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #5,548 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "baila" and "bainha" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "baila vs bile". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #5,548 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.