bakvsbisTell them apart

Quick tell: bak is a noun, bis is a preposition, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“bak” is a noun and “bis” is a preposition - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#38,589
“bak” frequency rank
#14,300
“bis” frequency rank
52889
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature bak bis
Definition retaguarda, parte traseira até

Letter map: bak vs bis

Shared letters muted; letters that set bak and bis apart highlighted. Shared run: 1.

3 ch
bak
3 ch
bis

Role in the sentence - bak and bis

Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: bak is anoun and bisapreposition. On the page they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 52889, 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/. bis is at rank #14,300, tagged as aprep.

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 52889, this pair ranks #12,415 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of bak vs bis

Shared letters: b. Private to "bak": ak. Private to "bis": is.

"bak" · 3 letters · shape CVC  ·  "bis" · 3 letters · shape CVC

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "bak" for "bis" ever safe?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "bak" is a noun and "bis" a preposition, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Frequency check: "bak" vs "bis" - which ranks higher?
"bis" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #14,300 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.

What to do next

Done with this confusable. These links stay specific to "bak" and "bis".

  • Full dictionary entry for "bak" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "bis" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #12,415 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "bak" and "bis" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "bak vs bué". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #12,415 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list