Which to use
“br” is an intj and “but” is a preposition - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #8,393
- “br” frequency rank
- #25
- “but” frequency rank
- 8418
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | br | but |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Alternative form of brr (“expressing cold and shivering”). | Apart from, except (for), excluding. |
Letter map: br vs but
Shared letters muted; letters that set br and but apart highlighted. Shared run: 1.
Part-of-speech tell for br / but
Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: br is anintj and butapreposition. On the page they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 8418, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
br is recorded at frequency rank #8,393, classified as anintj. 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 8418, this pair ranks #502,587 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of br vs but
Shared letters: b. Private to "br": r. Private to "but": tu.
"br" · 2 letters · shape CC · "but" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "br" and "but" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "br" or "but"?
What to do next
You've compared "br" and "but". Here's where to go from here.
- Full dictionary entry for "br" 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 #502,587 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "br" and "but" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "BFS vs br". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #502,587 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.