pisvsproWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“pis” and “pro” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#3,350
“pis” frequency rank
#1,039
“pro” frequency rank
4389
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature pis pro
Definition Mamelle de bête laitière (vache, brebis, etc.). Professionnel, professionnelle.

Where the eye mixes pis and pro

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.

3 ch
pis
3 ch
pro

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. pis (\pi\) and pro (\pʁo\) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 4389, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

pis is recorded at frequency rank #3,350, classified as anoun, pronounced \pi\. pro is at rank #1,039, tagged as anoun, pronounced \pʁo\.

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 4389, this pair ranks #431,734 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of pis vs pro

Shared letters: p. Private to "pis": is. Private to "pro": or.

"pis" · 3 letters · shape CVC  ·  "pro" · 3 letters · shape CCV

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "pis" and "pro" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\pi\ versus \pʁo\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "pis" or "pro"?
"pro" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,039 in our French list, against #3,350 for "pis". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

You've compared "pis" and "pro". Here's where to go from here.

  • Full dictionary entry for "pis" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "pro" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #431,734 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "pis" and "pro" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "pio vs pis". Nearby pair

PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list