Which to use
“promise” is a noun and “propose” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #2,009
- “promise” frequency rank
- #7,269
- “propose” frequency rank
- 9278
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | promise | propose |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | An oath or affirmation; a vow. | To suggest a plan, course of action, etc. |
Where the eye mixes promise and propose
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. promise and propose follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CCVCVCV). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Visual trap between promise and propose
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: promise is /ˈpɹɒmɪs/ while propose is /pɹəˈpəʊz/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 9278, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
promise is recorded at frequency rank #2,009, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈpɹɒmɪs/. propose is at rank #7,269, tagged as averb, pronounced /pɹəˈpəʊz/.
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 9278, this pair ranks #498,205 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of promise vs propose
Shared letters: eoprs. Private to "promise": im. Private to "propose": -.
"promise" · 7 letters · shape CCVCVCV · "propose" · 7 letters · shape CCVCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "promise" and "propose" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary English text, does "promise" or "propose" show up more?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "promise" and "propose" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "promise" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "propose" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #498,205 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "promise" and "propose" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "promise vs proviso". 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 #498,205 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.