praysvsprobsConfusable pair

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.

Letter map: prays vs probs

Shared letters muted; letters that set prays and probs apart highlighted. Shared run: 3. prays (CCVVC) and probs (CCVCC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.

5 ch
prays
5 ch
probs

Role in the sentence - prays and probs

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

  • prays ← parys · pprays · prasy · prayss · prayys · prrays · pryas · rpays
  • probs ← porbs · pprobs · prbos · probbs · probss · prosb · prrobs · rpobs

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.

What to do next

You've compared "prays" and "probs". Here's where to go from here.

  • Full dictionary entry for "prays" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "probs" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #84,425 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "prays" and "probs" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "poops vs probs". 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 #84,425 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list