ProbevsproofWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“Probe” and “proof” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#5,209
“Probe” frequency rank
#32,721
“proof” frequency rank
37930
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Probe proof
Definition das Einstudieren bei aufführenden Künsten Beweis, Beweismittel

Letter map: Probe vs proof

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

5 ch
Probe
5 ch
proof

Spelling & dictionary notes on Probe vs proof

Probe and proof are indexed as a confusable German pair. We have no recorded pronunciation or part of speech for both members, so the spelling overlap is what we can show you: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 37930, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Probe is recorded at frequency rank #5,209, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈpʁoːbə]. 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 37930, this pair ranks #1,577,384 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Probe vs proof

Shared letters: opr. Private to "Probe": be. Private to "proof": f.

"Probe" · 5 letters · shape CCVCV  ·  "proof" · 5 letters · shape CCVVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Probeporbe · pprobe · prboe · probbe · proeb · prrobe · rpobe
  • proofporof · pproof · prof · profo · prooff · prroof · rpoof

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "Probe" for "proof" ever safe?
No. They share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, but the dictionary glosses above give them different meanings, so swapping one for the other changes what the sentence says.
In ordinary German text, does "Probe" or "proof" show up more?
"Probe" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,209 in our German list, against #32,721 for "proof". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "Probe" 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 #1,577,384 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Probe" and "proof" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "proof vs puzzles". 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 #1,577,384 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