Which to use
“bas” and “beau” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #35,453
- “bas” frequency rank
- #29,243
- “beau” frequency rank
- 64696
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | bas | beau |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | baixo: | bonito |
Where the eye mixes bas and beau
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence. bas runs 3 letters (CVC) against beau's 4 (CVVV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses bas with beau
A purely visual mix-up. bas (/bɑ/) and beau (/bo/) 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 64696, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
bas is recorded at frequency rank #35,453, classified as anadj, pronounced /bɑ/. beau is at rank #29,243, tagged as anadj, pronounced /bo/.
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 64696, this pair ranks #5,670 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of bas vs beau
Shared letters: ab. Private to "bas": s. Private to "beau": eu.
"bas" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "beau" · 4 letters · shape CVVV
Known mistypes of this pair
- beau ← baeu · bbeau · beua · ebau
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "bas" for "beau" ever safe?
Frequency check: "bas" vs "beau" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "bas" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "beau" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #5,670 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "bas" and "beau" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "bas 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 #5,670 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.