PUvspullWhich spelling fits?

Quick tell: PU is a intj, pull is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“PU” is an intj and “pull” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#16,315
“PU” frequency rank
#1,611
“pull” frequency rank
17926
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature PU pull
Definition Alternative form of P U; expression used when encountering a displeasing smell; exaggerated pronunciation of pew. To apply a force to (an object) so that it comes toward the person or thing applying the force.

Letter map: PU vs pull

Shared letters muted; letters that set PU and pull apart highlighted. Shared run: 2.

2 ch
PU
4 ch
pull

Grammar separator: PU vs pull

Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: PU is anintj and pullaverb. On the page they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “PU” sits inside “pull”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 17926, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

PU is recorded at frequency rank #16,315, classified as anintj. pull is at rank #1,611, tagged as averb, pronounced /pʊl/.

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 17926, this pair ranks #448,278 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of PU vs pull

Shared letters: pu. Private to "PU": -. Private to "pull": l.

"PU" · 2 letters · shape CV  ·  "pull" · 4 letters · shape CVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • pullplul · ppull · pul · upll

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "PU" and "pull" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "PU" is an intj and "pull" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Frequency check: "PU" vs "pull" - which ranks higher?
"pull" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,611 in our English list, against #16,315 for "PU". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

After this comparison

Done with this confusable. These links stay specific to "PU" and "pull".

  • Full dictionary entry for "PU" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "pull" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #448,278 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "PU" and "pull" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "PPA vs PU". 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 #448,278 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