probvsproofConfusable pair

Quick tell: prob is a verb, proof is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“prob” is a verb and “proof” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#47,655
“prob” frequency rank
#32,721
“proof” frequency rank
80376
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature prob proof
Definition 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs proben Beweis, Beweismittel

Letter map: prob vs proof

Shared letters muted; letters that set prob and proof apart highlighted. Shared run: 3.

4 ch
prob
5 ch
proof

Grammar separator: prob vs proof

Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: prob is averb and proofanoun. On the page they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 80376, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

prob is recorded at frequency rank #47,655, classified as averb, pronounced [pʁoːp]. proof is at rank #32,721, tagged as anoun, pronounced […].

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 80376, this pair ranks #196,876 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of prob vs proof

Shared letters: opr. Private to "prob": b. Private to "proof": f.

"prob" · 4 letters · shape CCVC  ·  "proof" · 5 letters · shape CCVVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • probporb · pprob · prbo · probb · prrob · rpob
  • proofporof · pproof · prof · profo · prooff · prroof · rpoof

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "prob" and "proof" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "prob" is a verb and "proof" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Frequency check: "prob" vs "proof" - which ranks higher?
"proof" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #32,721 in our German list, against #47,655 for "prob". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

You've compared "prob" and "proof". Here's where to go from here.

  • Full dictionary entry for "prob" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "proof" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #196,876 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "prob" and "proof" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "PoC vs prob". 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 #196,876 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list