bitvsbokWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“bit” and “bok” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#11,815
“bit” frequency rank
#41,372
“bok” frequency rank
53187
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature bit bok
Definition ver bite bode

Where the eye mixes bit and bok

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.

3 ch
bit
3 ch
bok

Why the eye confuses bit with bok

A purely visual mix-up. bit (/bit/) and bok (/bɔk/) 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 53187, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

bit is recorded at frequency rank #11,815, classified as anoun, pronounced /bit/. bok is at rank #41,372, tagged as anoun, pronounced /bɔk/.

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 53187, this pair ranks #12,212 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of bit vs bok

Shared letters: b. Private to "bit": it. Private to "bok": ko.

"bit" · 3 letters · shape CVC  ·  "bok" · 3 letters · shape CVC

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "bit" for "bok" ever safe?
No. They are said differently (/bit/ versus /bɔk/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "bit" vs "bok" - which ranks higher?
"bit" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #11,815 in our Portuguese list, against #41,372 for "bok". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

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 "bit" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "bok" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #12,212 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "bit" and "bok" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "bok vs bué". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #12,212 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list