Which to use
“pobre” is an adjective and “probé” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #999
- “pobre” frequency rank
- #16,429
- “probé” frequency rank
- 17428
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | pobre | probé |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Que tiene pocos bienes materiales. | Primera persona del singular (yo) del pretérito perfecto simple de indicativo de probar. |
Where the eye mixes pobre and probé
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between pobre and probé
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: pobre is [ˈpoβ̞ɾe] while probé is [pɾoˈβ̞e]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 4 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 17428, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
pobre is recorded at frequency rank #999, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈpoβ̞ɾe]. probé is at rank #16,429, tagged as averb, pronounced [pɾoˈβ̞e].
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 17428, this pair ranks #272,141 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of pobre vs probé
Shared letters: bopr. Private to "pobre": e. Private to "probé": é.
"pobre" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV · "probé" · 5 letters · shape CCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- pobre ← opbre · pbore · pobbre · pober · pobrre · porbe · povre · ppobre
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "pobre" and "probé" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "pobre" or "probé"?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "pobre" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "probé" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #272,141 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "pobre" and "probé" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "probé 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 #272,141 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.