Which to use
“bak” is a noun and “bom” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #38,589
- “bak” frequency rank
- #96
- “bom” frequency rank
- 38685
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | bak | bom |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | retaguarda, parte traseira | que corresponde plenamente ao que é exigido, desejado ou esperado quanto à sua natureza, adequação, função, eficácia, funcionamento etc. (falando de ser ou coisa) |
Letter map: bak vs bom
Shared letters muted; letters that set bak and bom apart highlighted. Shared run: 1.
Part-of-speech tell for bak / bom
Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: bak is anoun and bomanadjective. On the page they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 38685, 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/. bom is at rank #96, tagged as anadj.
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 38685, this pair ranks #27,704 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of bak vs bom
Shared letters: b. Private to "bak": ak. Private to "bom": mo.
"bak" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "bom" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "bak" for "bom" ever safe?
Frequency check: "bak" vs "bom" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Done with this confusable. These links stay specific to "bak" and "bom".
- Full dictionary entry for "bak" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "bom" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #27,704 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "bak" and "bom" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "bak vs bué". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #27,704 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.