por

[poɾ]

/[poɾ]/ prep

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

The verdict

“por” is in the everyday core of Spanish, ranked #12 in Spanish word frequency and used as a preposition.

#12
frequency rank, Spanish
3
letters
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Indica el complemento agente en la voz pasiva.

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)

Where “por” sits in Spanish frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). por lands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The Spanish entry for por is 3 letters long, classified as a preposition, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as [poɾ]. Corpus data places it at rank #12 in overall Spanish word frequency, putting it firmly in the everyday core of the language. Wiktionary records 32 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

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.

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.

Using “por”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct Spanish spelling is P-O-R - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as [poɾ] (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “PP” - see the side-by-side comparison. por vs PP
  • Browse more Spanish words and confusable pairs in the same reference. Spanish 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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list