Which to use
“promise” and “prose” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #2,009
- “promise” frequency rank
- #10,913
- “prose” frequency rank
- 12922
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | promise | prose |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | An oath or affirmation; a vow. | Language, particularly written language, not intended as poetry. |
Where the eye mixes promise and prose
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between promise and prose
A purely visual mix-up. promise (/ˈpɹɒmɪs/) and prose (/ˈpɹəʊz/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 12922, 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/. prose is at rank #10,913, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈpɹəʊz/.
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 12922, this pair ranks #478,775 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of promise vs prose
Shared letters: eoprs. Private to "promise": im. Private to "prose": -.
"promise" · 7 letters · shape CCVCVCV · "prose" · 5 letters · shape CCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "promise" and "prose" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "promise" vs "prose" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "promise" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "prose" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #478,775 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "promise" and "prose" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "prose vs prude". 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 #478,775 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.