# both vs but

> English confusable word pair

## The two words

### both
*determiner · IPA /bəʊθ/ · frequency rank #157*
Each of the two; one and the other; referring to two individuals or items.

### but
*preposition · IPA /ˈbʌt/ · frequency rank #25*
Apart from, except (for), excluding.

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-09-03.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/vs/both-vs-but