proofvsproposWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#43,613
“proof” frequency rank
#561
“propos” frequency rank
44174
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature proof propos
Definition Preuve (définitive). Paroles échangées dans la conversation.

Where the eye mixes proof and propos

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.

5 ch
proof
6 ch
propos

Look-alike desk: proof vs propos

A purely visual mix-up. proof (\ˈpɹuːf\) and propos (\pʁɔ.po\) 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 44174, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

proof is recorded at frequency rank #43,613, classified as anoun, pronounced \ˈpɹuːf\. propos is at rank #561, tagged as anoun, pronounced \pʁɔ.po\.

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 44174, this pair ranks #212,463 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of proof vs propos

Shared letters: opr. Private to "proof": f. Private to "propos": s.

"proof" · 5 letters · shape CCVVC  ·  "propos" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • proofporof · pproof · profo · prooff · prroof · rpoof
  • proposporpos · ppropos · proops · proposs · proppos · propso · prpoos · prropos

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "proof" and "propos" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\ˈpɹuːf\ versus \pʁɔ.po\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "proof" or "propos"?
"propos" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #561 in our French list, against #43,613 for "proof". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Useful next steps

Eye-level mix-up between "proof" and "propos" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "proof" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "propos" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #212,463 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "proof" and "propos" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "proof vs proud". 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 #212,463 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list