Which to use
“bal” and “baús” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #46,689
- “bal” frequency rank
- #47,199
- “baús” frequency rank
- 93888
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | bal | baús |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | bola | plural de baú |
Where the eye mixes bal and baús
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence. bal runs 3 letters (CVC) against baús's 4 (CVVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: bal vs baús
A purely visual mix-up. bal (/bɑl/) 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 differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 93888, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
bal is recorded at frequency rank #46,689, classified as anoun, pronounced /bɑl/. 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 93888, this pair ranks #111 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of bal vs baús
Shared letters: ab. Private to "bal": l. Private to "baús": sú.
"bal" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "baús" · 4 letters · shape CVVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "bal" for "baús" ever safe?
In ordinary Portuguese text, does "bal" or "baús" show up more?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "bal" and "baús" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "bal" 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 #111 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "bal" and "baús" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "bal vs bile". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #111 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.