Which to use
“bon” is an adjective and “by” is a preposition - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #10,479
- “bon” frequency rank
- #1,598
- “by” frequency rank
- 12077
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | bon | by |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | bom | por; |
Letter map: bon vs by
Shared letters muted; letters that set bon and by apart highlighted. Shared run: 1.
Grammar separator: bon vs by
Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: bon is anadjective and byapreposition. On the page they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 12077, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
bon is recorded at frequency rank #10,479, classified as anadj. by is at rank #1,598, tagged as aprep.
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 12077, this pair ranks #60,623 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of bon vs by
Shared letters: b. Private to "bon": no. Private to "by": y.
"bon" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "by" · 2 letters · shape CV
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "bon" for "by" ever safe?
Which is more common, "bon" or "by"?
What to do next
You've compared "bon" and "by". Here's where to go from here.
- Full dictionary entry for "bon" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "by" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #60,623 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "bon" and "by" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "bon vs bué". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #60,623 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.