probably
/ˈpɹɒb.ə.bli/
"probably" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“probably” is in the everyday core of English, ranked #425 in English word frequency and used as an adverb.
- #425
- frequency rank, English
- 8
- letters
- 13
- tracked misspellings
- 1
- confusable pair
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - In all likelihood.
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | probably |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adverb |
| IPA | /ˈpɹɒb.ə.bli/ |
| Letters | 8 |
| Frequency rank | #425 |
| Misspellings tracked | 13 |
| Confusable pairs | 1 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “probably” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for probably is 8 letters long, classified as an adverb, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈpɹɒb.ə.bli/. Corpus data places it at rank #425 in overall English word frequency, putting it firmly in the everyday core of the language. The dominant gloss from Wiktionary reads: "In all likelihood.".
Our generated misspelling index lists 13 likely wrong-spelling variants for probably, with forms such as "porbably", "pprobably", and "prboably". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 1 confusable-pair relationship, "probable", since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English probably, probabily, equivalent to probable + -ly. The correct English form is probably, spelled P-R-O-B-A-B-L-Y.
Definition
- 1In all likelihood.
Etymology
From Middle English probably, probabily, equivalent to probable + -ly.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: porbably,pprobably,prboably,proabbly,probabbly,probablly,probablyy,probabyl,probalby,probbably,probbaly,prrobably,rpobably
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of probably - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Using “probably”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is P-R-O-B-A-B-L-Y - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈpɹɒb.ə.bli/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “probable” - see the side-by-side comparison. probably vs probable
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.