praysvsprobsWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: prays is a verb, probs is an adverb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“prays” is a verb and “probs” is an adverb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#25,538
“prays” frequency rank
#37,641
“probs” frequency rank
63179
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature prays probs
Definition third-person singular simple present indicative of pray Clipping of probably.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set prays and probs apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
prays
5 ch
probs

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: prays is averb and probsanadverb. On the page they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 63179, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

prays is recorded at frequency rank #25,538, classified as averb, pronounced /pɹeɪz/. probs is at rank #37,641, tagged as anadv.

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 63179, this pair ranks #84,425 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of prays vs probs

Shared letters: prs. Private to "prays": ay. Private to "probs": bo.

"prays" · 5 letters · shape CCVVC  ·  "probs" · 5 letters · shape CCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • praysparys · pprays · prasy · prayss · prayys · prrays · pryas · rpays
  • probsporbs · pprobs · prbos · probbs · probss · prosb · prrobs · rpobs

Frequency comparison

prays#25,538
probs#37,641

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "prays" and "probs" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "prays" is a verb and "probs" an adverb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "prays" or "probs"?
"prays" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #25,538 in our English list, against #37,641 for "probs". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering prays vs probs

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “prays”; for an adverb, it's “probs”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “prays” 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