Which to use
“pb” and “PK” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #15,711
- “pb” frequency rank
- #15,207
- “PK” frequency rank
- 30918
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | pb | PK |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Problème. | Protéine-kinase. |
Where the eye mixes pb and PK
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.
Look-alike desk: pb vs PK
A purely visual mix-up. pb (\pʁɔ.blɛm\) and PK (\pe.ka\) 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 a single letter - b in “pb” becomes k in “PK”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 30918, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
pb is recorded at frequency rank #15,711, classified as anoun, pronounced \pʁɔ.blɛm\. PK is at rank #15,207, tagged as anoun, pronounced \pe.ka\.
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 30918, this pair ranks #307,166 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of pb vs PK
Shared letters: p. Private to "pb": b. Private to "PK": k.
"pb" · 2 letters · shape CC · "PK" · 2 letters · shape CC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "pb" for "PK" ever safe?
In ordinary French text, does "pb" or "PK" show up more?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "pb" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "PK" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #307,166 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "pb" and "PK" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "pb vs pio". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #307,166 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.