pervsPWWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#339
“per” frequency rank
#26,926
“PW” frequency rank
27265
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature per PW
Definition For each. Abbreviation of password.

Letter map: per vs PW

Shared letters muted; letters that set per and PW apart highlighted. Shared run: 1.

3 ch
per
2 ch
PW

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: per is apreposition and PWanoun. On the page they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 27265, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

per is recorded at frequency rank #339, classified as aprep, pronounced /pɜː/. PW is at rank #26,926, tagged as anoun.

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 27265, this pair ranks #380,284 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of per vs PW

Shared letters: p. Private to "per": er. Private to "PW": w.

"per" · 3 letters · shape CVC  ·  "PW" · 2 letters · shape CC

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "per" and "PW" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "per" is a preposition and "PW" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "per" or "PW"?
"per" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #339 in our English list, against #26,926 for "PW". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

What to do next

You've compared "per" and "PW". Here's where to go from here.

  • Full dictionary entry for "per" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "PW" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #380,284 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "per" and "PW" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "PPA vs PW". Nearby pair

PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list