Which to use
“pars” and “parser” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #34,627
- “pars” frequency rank
- #45,572
- “parser” frequency rank
- 80199
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | pars | parser |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | plural of par | A computer program that parses. |
Where the eye mixes pars and parser
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses pars with parser
A purely visual mix-up. pars (/pɑːz/) 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 differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “pars” sits inside “parser”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 80199, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
pars is recorded at frequency rank #34,627, classified as anoun, pronounced /pɑːz/. 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 80199, this pair ranks #20,362 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of pars vs parser
Shared letters: aprs. Private to "pars": -. Private to "parser": e.
"pars" · 4 letters · shape CVCC · "parser" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "pars" for "parser" ever safe?
Frequency check: "pars" vs "parser" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "pars" and "parser" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "pars" 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 #20,362 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "pars" 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 #20,362 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.