por

[poɾ]

/[poɾ]/ prep

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

The verdict

“por” sits in 20 confusable pairs (corpus #12) as a preposition. The look-alike neighbours are the real trap.

#12
frequency rank, Spanish
6,028
“P” headwords
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Indica el complemento agente en la voz pasiva.

Corpus desk

Index ES-por · por · Spanish

por · rank #12 · 0 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-CORE #12
  • LEN-MID 3 letters
  • VOW-1 1 vowel
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 6,028
  • PHOTO-FINISH se

Nearest frequency peer: se (-1 rank slots)

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Frequency neighbourhood for “por”

Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)

corpus weight

What this shows Bars show where “por” sits against the nearest ranked Spanish headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

por vs PP
0% similar
por vs PT
0% similar
por vs pu
33% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for por
PropertyValue
Headwordpor
LanguageSpanish
Part of speechPreposition
IPA[poɾ]
Letters3
Frequency rank#12
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Dónde se sitúa “por” en la frecuencia del español

De izquierda a derecha: las pocas palabras que cargan el habla diaria, luego la cola larga casi invisible.porcae aquí:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

La escala es logarítmica (cada marca ≈ 10× más rara). En la misma franja de rareza aparecen “se” (#11), “un” (#10), “del” (#14). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Easy to mix with look-alikes

The spelling risk for por is neighbouring look-alikes ("PP", "PT", …), not just typos; it is apreposition pronounced [poɾ]. Frequency #12 among 6,028 “P” headwords. 32 recorded senses keep meaning in play.

por has no tracked misspelling variants, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "PP", "PT", "pu", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Our source data has no etymology on file for this entry, so its spelling is best explained by sound-to-letter mapping rather than etymology. The correct Spanish form is por, spelled P-O-R.

Definition

  1. 1
    Indica el complemento agente en la voz pasiva.
  2. 2
    Indica el lugar donde ocurre el movimiento, por donde se pasa.
  3. 3
    Indica una parte o lugar concretos.
  4. 4
    Indica lugar o fecha aproximada.
  5. 5
    Indica un lapso de tiempo en el curso del cual se produce la acción.
  6. 6
    Indica el motivo o causa.
  7. 7
    Indica la razón o finalidad.
  8. 8
    Indica la persona o cosa favorecida por la acción.
  9. 9
    Indica en qué condición o calidad tiene lugar la acción.
  10. 10
    Indica un motivo del que se puede concluir algo.
  11. 11
    Indica el procedimiento para hacer o conseguir algo.
  12. 12
    Indica la forma de proceder en la acción.
  13. 13
    Indica un precio o valor económico.
  14. 14
    Indica que algo o alguien es reemplazado en su función.
  15. 15
    Indica que a alguien se le considera o valora como algo.
  16. 16
    Indica una cantidad que se reparte en partes iguales.
  17. 17
    Indica multiplicación entre dos números.
  18. 18
    Indica proporción entre cantidades.
  19. 19
    Indica compensación.
  20. 20
    Se usa en comparaciones.
  21. 21
    Indica algo que se relaciona con lo mencionado.
  22. 22
    Con verbos de movimiento significa ir a buscar.
  23. 23
    En medio de un mismo sustantivo repetido, o en medio de la palabra "uno" repetida, indica una acción prolija o que se repite metódicamente.
  24. 24
    Delante de un pronombre o un nombre, indica aceptación por parte de este.
  25. 25
    En tono interrogativo, indaga por el motivo.
  26. 26
    Indica carencia, ausencia o falta.
  27. 27
    Con algunos verbos en infinitivo, indica el motivo.
  28. 28
    Delante de algunos verbos en infinitivo, indica que la acción aun no se ejecuta.
  29. 29
    En medio de un verbo en infinitivo y repetido, indica inutilidad, futilidad de la acción.
  30. 30
    Detrás de un verbo conjugado y delante de su infinitivo, indica inutilidad, futilidad de la acción.
  31. 31
    Precedido de no y seguida de que, o seguido de un adjetivo, o seguido de un adverbio, indica un valor concesivo.
  32. 32
    Indica que se pasa de lado a lado a través de algo.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how por appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. La pelota fue pateada por Matías Fernández, el Matigol.
  2. Pasando por San Fernando, amaneciendo en Pomaire.

Synonyms

debido adeacomodecomosobreacerca deapara¿Por qué?sinparaa través de

This word in other languages

by(English)par(Français)von(Deutsch)por(Português)

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 Spanish corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "por"?
"por" is spelled P-O-R. The IPA pronunciation is [poɾ].
What does "por" mean?
As a preposition, "por" means: Indica el complemento agente en la voz pasiva.
What words are commonly confused with "por"?
"por" is commonly confused with "PP", "PT", "pu". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "por"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "por" is [poɾ]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "por" come from?
"por" is a Spanish word. PlainSpell covers definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar Spanish words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "por", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked Spanish headwords with 3 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

del#14las#15con#16los#8

What to do next

You've looked up "por". Here's where to go from here.

  • "por" maps to 20 confusable pairs in this vintage; the highest-scored is "PP". View pair
  • Usage frequency rank #12 among Spanish headwords in this corpus. Corpus statistics
  • Browse more Spanish words in the "P" letter cohort. P–Z browse

PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.

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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list