bailar vs baile, What's the Difference?

Which to use

“bailar” is a verb and “baile” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#49,314
“bailar” frequency rank: #3,664
“baile” frequency rank: 52978
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	bailar	baile
Definition	executar dançando	reunião de pessoas para dançar

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set bailar and baile apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch

bailar

5 ch

baile

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: bailar is /baj.ˈlaɾ/ while baile is /ˈbaj.lɨ/. 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 (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 52978, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

bailar is recorded at frequency rank #49,314, classified as averb, pronounced /baj.ˈlaɾ/. baile is at rank #3,664, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈbaj.lɨ/.

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 52978, this pair ranks #12,358 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of bailar vs baile

Shared letters: abil. Private to "bailar": r. Private to "baile": e.

"bailar" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC · "baile" · 5 letters · shape CVVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

bailar ← abilar · baialr · bailarr · baillar · bailra · baliar · bbailar · bialar
baile ← abile · baiel · baille · balie · bbaile · biale

Frequency comparison

bailar#49,314

baile#3,664

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "bailar" and "baile" be used interchangeably?

No - they are not even the same part of speech. "bailar" is a verb and "baile" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.

Which is more common, "bailar" or "baile"?

"baile" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,664 in our Portuguese list, against #49,314 for "bailar". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering bailar vs baile

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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