Which to use
“peg” is a noun and “per” is a preposition - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #15,243
- “peg” frequency rank
- #339
- “per” frequency rank
- 15582
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | peg | per |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | A cylindrical wooden or metal object used to fasten or as a bearing between objects. | For each. |
Where the eye mixes peg and per
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses peg with per
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: peg is /pɛɡ/ while per is /pɜː/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - g in “peg” becomes r in “per”, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs preposition), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 15582, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
peg is recorded at frequency rank #15,243, classified as anoun, pronounced /pɛɡ/. 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 15582, this pair ranks #463,092 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of peg vs per
Shared letters: ep. Private to "peg": g. Private to "per": r.
"peg" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "per" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "peg" and "per" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary English text, does "peg" or "per" show up more?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "peg" and "per" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "peg" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "per" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #463,092 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "peg" and "per" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "peg vs PPA". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #463,092 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.