plomovsproboWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: plomo is a noun, probo is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“plomo” is a noun and “probo” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#7,478
“plomo” frequency rank
#49,876
“probo” frequency rank
57354
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature plomo probo
Definition Elemento químico de la tabla periódica de los elementos, con símbolo Pb y número atómico 82, un metal pesado, dúctil, maleable, poco tenaz, de color azul grisáceo, y muy tóxico. Que tiene probidad; honrado y honesto.

Where the eye mixes plomo and probo

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.

5 ch
plomo
5 ch
probo

Visual trap between plomo and probo

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: plomo is [ˈplomo] while probo is [ˈpɾoβ̞o]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 57354, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

plomo is recorded at frequency rank #7,478, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈplomo]. probo is at rank #49,876, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈpɾoβ̞o].

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 57354, this pair ranks #70,824 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of plomo vs probo

Shared letters: op. Private to "plomo": lm. Private to "probo": br.

"plomo" · 5 letters · shape CCVCV  ·  "probo" · 5 letters · shape CCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • plomolpomo · pllomo · plmoo · plommo · ploom · polmo · pplomo
  • proboporbo · pprobo · prboo · probbo · proob · provo · prrobo · rpobo

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "plomo" and "probo" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "plomo" is a noun and "probo" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "plomo" or "probo"?
"plomo" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #7,478 in our Spanish list, against #49,876 for "probo". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "plomo" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "probo" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #70,824 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "plomo" and "probo" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Pombo vs probo". 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 #70,824 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list