Which to use
“pro” and “pus” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #1,039
- “pro” frequency rank
- #13,881
- “pus” frequency rank
- 14920
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | pro | pus |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Professionnel, professionnelle. | Matière liquide, épaisse, blanchâtre, qui se forme dans les abcès, qui sort des plaies et des ulcères. |
Where the eye mixes pro and pus
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.
Visual trap between pro and pus
A purely visual mix-up. pro (\pʁo\) and pus (\py\) 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 14920, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
pro is recorded at frequency rank #1,039, classified as anoun, pronounced \pʁo\. pus is at rank #13,881, tagged as anoun, pronounced \py\.
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 14920, this pair ranks #394,641 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of pro vs pus
Shared letters: p. Private to "pro": or. Private to "pus": su.
"pro" · 3 letters · shape CCV · "pus" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "pro" for "pus" ever safe?
In ordinary French text, does "pro" or "pus" 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 "pro" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "pus" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #394,641 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "pro" and "pus" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "pio vs pus". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #394,641 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.