Which to use
“proof” is a noun and “prüf” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #32,721
- “proof” frequency rank
- #44,153
- “prüf” frequency rank
- 76874
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | proof | prüf |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Beweis, Beweismittel | 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs prüfen |
Letter map: proof vs prüf
Shared letters muted; letters that set proof and prüf apart highlighted. Shared run: 3.
Role in the sentence - proof and prüf
Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: proof is anoun and prüfaverb. On the page they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 76874, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
proof is recorded at frequency rank #32,721, classified as anoun, pronounced […]. prüf is at rank #44,153, tagged as averb, pronounced [pʁyːf].
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 76874, this pair ranks #273,678 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of proof vs prüf
Shared letters: fpr. Private to "proof": o. Private to "prüf": ü.
"proof" · 5 letters · shape CCVVC · "prüf" · 4 letters · shape CCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- proof ← porof · pproof · prof · profo · prooff · prroof · rpoof
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "proof" for "prüf" ever safe?
Which is more common, "proof" or "prüf"?
What to do next
Pair "proof" vs "prüf" is on the table, pick a follow-up below.
- Full dictionary entry for "proof" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "prüf" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #273,678 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "proof" and "prüf" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Pau vs prüf". 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 #273,678 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.