Which to use
“bait” and “baús” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #39,487
- “bait” frequency rank
- #47,199
- “baús” frequency rank
- 86686
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | bait | baús |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | isca | plural de baú |
Where the eye mixes bait and baús
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence. bait and baús follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Why the eye confuses bait with baús
A purely visual mix-up. bait (/beɪt/) 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 86686, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
bait is recorded at frequency rank #39,487, classified as anoun, pronounced /beɪt/. 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 86686, this pair ranks #554 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of bait vs baús
Shared letters: ab. Private to "bait": it. Private to "baús": sú.
"bait" · 4 letters · shape CVVC · "baús" · 4 letters · shape CVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- bait ← abit · baitt · bati · bbait · biat
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "bait" for "baús" ever safe?
In ordinary Portuguese text, does "bait" or "baús" show up more?
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 "bait" 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 #554 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "bait" and "baús" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "baús vs bué". 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 #554 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.