porvspubWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: por is a preposition, pub is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“por” is a preposition and “pub” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#12
“por” frequency rank
#13,993
“pub” frequency rank
14005
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature por pub
Definition Indica el complemento agente en la voz pasiva. Local en que se sirven bebidas y más raramente comidas ligeras, normalmente con decoración a la británica, música ambiental y horarios nocturnos.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set por and pub apart are highlighted. They share 1 letter in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

3 ch
por
3 ch
pub

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

por and pub form a confusable pair in the Spanish index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 14005, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

por is recorded at frequency rank #12, classified as aprep, pronounced [poɾ]. pub is at rank #13,993, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈpuβ̞].

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 14005, this pair ranks #285,743 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Frequency comparison

por#12
pub#13,993

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "por" and "pub" be used interchangeably?
No, "por" and "pub" have distinct meanings and cannot be swapped without changing the meaning of a sentence. Understanding the specific definition and context for each word is essential for correct usage.

Remembering por vs pub

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a preposition, it's “por”; for a noun, it's “pub”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “por” 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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list