Which to use
“both” is a determiner and “but” is a preposition - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #157
- “both” frequency rank
- #25
- “but” frequency rank
- 182
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | both | but |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Each of the two; one and the other; referring to two individuals or items. | Apart from, except (for), excluding. |
Where the eye mixes both and but
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between both and but
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: both is /bəʊθ/ while but is /ˈbʌt/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (determiner vs preposition), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 182, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
both is recorded at frequency rank #157, classified as adet, pronounced /bəʊθ/. 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 182, this pair ranks #529,760 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of both vs but
Shared letters: bt. Private to "both": ho. Private to "but": u.
"both" · 4 letters · shape CVCC · "but" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- both ← bboth · boht · bothh · botth · btoh · obth
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "both" and "but" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "both" or "but"?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "both" 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 #529,760 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "both" and "but" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "BFS vs but". 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 #529,760 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.