Which to use
“bale” and “baús” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #29,600
- “bale” frequency rank
- #47,199
- “baús” frequency rank
- 76799
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | bale | baús |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | fardo | plural de baú |
Where the eye mixes bale and baús
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence. bale (CVCV) and baús (CVVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Visual trap between bale and baús
A purely visual mix-up. bale (/beɪ̯l/, [ˈbeɪ̯(ə)ɫ], [beə̯ɫ]) 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 share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 76799, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
bale is recorded at frequency rank #29,600, classified as anoun, pronounced /beɪ̯l/, [ˈbeɪ̯(ə)ɫ], [beə̯ɫ]. 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 76799, this pair ranks #2,021 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of bale vs baús
Shared letters: ab. Private to "bale": el. Private to "baús": sú.
"bale" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "baús" · 4 letters · shape CVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- bale ← balle · bbale · blae
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "bale" and "baús" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "bale" or "baús"?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "bale" 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 #2,021 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "bale" and "baús" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "baús 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 #2,021 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.