Which to use
“parlor” and “parser” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #18,646
- “parlor” frequency rank
- #45,572
- “parser” frequency rank
- 64218
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | parlor | parser |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | The living room of a house, or a room for entertaining guests; a room for talking; a sitting-room or drawing room. | A computer program that parses. |
Where the eye mixes parlor and parser
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. parlor and parser follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Visual trap between parlor and parser
A purely visual mix-up. parlor (/ˈpɑːlə/) and parser (/ˈpɑː(ɹ).zə/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 64218, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
parlor is recorded at frequency rank #18,646, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈpɑːlə/. parser is at rank #45,572, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈpɑː(ɹ).zə/.
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 64218, this pair ranks #78,885 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of parlor vs parser
Shared letters: apr. Private to "parlor": lo. Private to "parser": es.
"parlor" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "parser" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "parlor" for "parser" ever safe?
Frequency check: "parlor" vs "parser" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "parlor" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "parser" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #78,885 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "parlor" and "parser" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "parley vs parser". 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 #78,885 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.