Which to use
“bak” and “bran” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #38,589
- “bak” frequency rank
- #29,613
- “bran” frequency rank
- 68202
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | bak | bran |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | retaguarda, parte traseira | farelo. |
Where the eye mixes bak and bran
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence. bak runs 3 letters (CVC) against bran's 4 (CCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses bak with bran
A purely visual mix-up. bak (/ˈbaːk/) and bran (/bræn/) 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 68202, 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/. bran is at rank #29,613, tagged as anoun, pronounced /bræn/.
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 68202, this pair ranks #4,360 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of bak vs bran
Shared letters: ab. Private to "bak": k. Private to "bran": nr.
"bak" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "bran" · 4 letters · shape CCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- bran ← barn · bbran · brann · brna · brran · rban
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "bak" for "bran" ever safe?
In ordinary Portuguese text, does "bak" or "bran" show up more?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "bak" and "bran" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "bak" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "bran" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #4,360 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "bak" and "bran" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "bak 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 #4,360 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.