Which to use
“BMI” is a noun and “but” is a preposition - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #16,419
- “BMI” frequency rank
- #25
- “but” frequency rank
- 16444
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | BMI | but |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Initialism of body mass index. | Apart from, except (for), excluding. |
Letter map: BMI vs but
Shared letters muted; letters that set BMI and but apart highlighted. Shared run: 1.
Role in the sentence - BMI and but
Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: BMI is anoun and butapreposition. On the page they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 16444, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
BMI is recorded at frequency rank #16,419, classified as anoun. but is at rank #25, tagged as aprep, pronounced /ˈbʌt/.
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 16444, this pair ranks #457,704 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of BMI vs but
Shared letters: b. Private to "BMI": im. Private to "but": tu.
"BMI" · 3 letters · shape CCV · "but" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "BMI" and "but" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "BMI" vs "but" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
You've compared "BMI" and "but". Here's where to go from here.
- Full dictionary entry for "BMI" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "but" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #457,704 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "BMI" and "but" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "BFS vs BMI". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #457,704 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.