poovsproboWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#43,780
“poo” frequency rank
#49,876
“probo” frequency rank
93656
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature poo probo
Definition Polvo. Que tiene probidad; honrado y honesto.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set poo and probo apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

3 ch
poo
5 ch
probo

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: poo is [ˈpɔ.o] while probo is [ˈpɾoβ̞o]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 93656, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

poo is recorded at frequency rank #43,780, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈpɔ.o]. 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 93656, this pair ranks #1,051 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of poo vs probo

Shared letters: op. Private to "poo": -. Private to "probo": br.

"poo" · 3 letters · shape CVV  ·  "probo" · 5 letters · shape CCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • proboporbo · pprobo · prboo · probbo · proob · provo · prrobo · rpobo

Frequency comparison

poo#43,780
probo#49,876

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "poo" and "probo" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "poo" is a noun and "probo" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "poo" or "probo"?
"poo" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #43,780 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.

Remembering poo vs probo

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “poo”; for an adjective, it's “probo”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “poo” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list