provsprobéWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: pro is a preposition, probé is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“pro” is a preposition and “probé” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#1,421
“pro” frequency rank
#16,429
“probé” frequency rank
17850
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature pro probé
Definition Úsase para indicar el beneficiario de una acción o iniciativa. Primera persona del singular (yo) del pretérito perfecto simple de indicativo de probar.

Where the spellings diverge

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

3 ch
pro
5 ch
probé

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: pro is [ˈpɾo] while probé is [pɾoˈβ̞e]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “pro” sits inside “probé”, and the parts of speech differ too (preposition vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 17850, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

pro is recorded at frequency rank #1,421, classified as aprep, pronounced [ˈpɾo]. 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 17850, this pair ranks #270,437 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of pro vs probé

Shared letters: opr. Private to "pro": -. Private to "probé": .

"pro" · 3 letters · shape CCV  ·  "probé" · 5 letters · shape CCVCV

Frequency comparison

pro#1,421
probé#16,429

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "pro" and "probé" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "pro" is a preposition and "probé" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "pro" or "probé"?
"pro" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,421 in our Spanish list, against #16,429 for "probé". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering pro vs probé

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a preposition, it's “pro”; for a verb, it's “probé”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “pro” 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