bakvsbankWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“bak” and “bank” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#38,589
“bak” frequency rank
#9,803
“bank” frequency rank
48392
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature bak bank
Definition retaguarda, parte traseira banco

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set bak and bank apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

3 ch
bak
4 ch
bank

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. bak (/ˈbaːk/) and bank (/bɑŋk/) 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 48392, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

bak is recorded at frequency rank #38,589, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈbaːk/. bank is at rank #9,803, tagged as anoun, pronounced /bɑŋk/.

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 48392, this pair ranks #16,780 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of bak vs bank

Shared letters: abk. Private to "bak": -. Private to "bank": n.

"bak" · 3 letters · shape CVC  ·  "bank" · 4 letters · shape CVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • bankabnk · bakn · bankk · bannk · bbank · bnak

Frequency comparison

bak#38,589
bank#9,803

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "bak" and "bank" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (/ˈbaːk/ versus /bɑŋk/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "bak" or "bank"?
"bank" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #9,803 in our Portuguese list, against #38,589 for "bak". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering bak vs bank

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “bak” 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