PCPvsperWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: PCP is a noun, per is a preposition, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“PCP” is a noun and “per” is a preposition - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#31,286
“PCP” frequency rank
#339
“per” frequency rank
31625
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature PCP per
Definition Initialism of personal contract purchase. For each.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set PCP and per apart are highlighted. They share 1 letter in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

3 ch
PCP
3 ch
per

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: PCP is anoun and perapreposition. On the page they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 31625, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

PCP is recorded at frequency rank #31,286, classified as anoun. per is at rank #339, tagged as aprep, pronounced /pɜː/.

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 31625, this pair ranks #344,593 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of PCP vs per

Shared letters: p. Private to "PCP": c. Private to "per": er.

"PCP" · 3 letters · shape CCC  ·  "per" · 3 letters · shape CVC

Frequency comparison

PCP#31,286
per#339

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "PCP" and "per" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "PCP" is a noun and "per" a preposition, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "PCP" or "per"?
"per" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #339 in our English list, against #31,286 for "PCP". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering PCP vs per

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “PCP”; for a preposition, it's “per”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “PCP” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list