probévsproveeWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

“probé” and “provee” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#16,429
“probé” frequency rank
#11,477
“provee” frequency rank
27906
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature probé provee
Definition Primera persona del singular (yo) del pretérito perfecto simple de indicativo de probar. Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de proveer o de proveerse.

Where the eye mixes probé and provee

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

5 ch
probé
6 ch
provee

Visual trap between probé and provee

A purely visual mix-up. probé ([pɾoˈβ̞e]) and provee ([pɾoˈβ̞ee]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 27906, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

probé is recorded at frequency rank #16,429, classified as averb, pronounced [pɾoˈβ̞e]. provee is at rank #11,477, tagged as averb, pronounced [pɾoˈβ̞ee].

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 27906, this pair ranks #224,588 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of probé vs provee

Shared letters: opr. Private to "probé": . Private to "provee": ev.

"probé" · 5 letters · shape CCVCV  ·  "provee" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • proveeporvee · pprovee · probee · proeve · prove · provvee · prrovee · prvoee

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "probé" for "provee" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([pɾoˈβ̞e] versus [pɾoˈβ̞ee]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary Spanish text, does "probé" or "provee" show up more?
"provee" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #11,477 in our Spanish list, against #16,429 for "probé". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "probé" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "provee" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #224,588 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "probé" and "provee" 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 #224,588 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