Which to use
“box” is a noun and “but” is a conjunction - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #6,381
- “box” frequency rank
- #7,254
- “but” frequency rank
- 13635
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | box | but |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | cada espaço subdividido por parede ou extrutura similar e que é destinado ao uso comercial dentro de uma construção maior | mas, porém, todavia |
Letter map: box vs but
Shared letters muted; letters that set box and but apart highlighted. Shared run: 1.
Role in the sentence - box and but
Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: box is anoun and butaconjunction. On the page they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 13635, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
box is recorded at frequency rank #6,381, classified as anoun. but is at rank #7,254, tagged as aconj.
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 13635, this pair ranks #58,652 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of box vs but
Shared letters: b. Private to "box": ox. Private to "but": tu.
"box" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "but" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "box" and "but" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "box" or "but"?
Useful next steps
You've compared "box" and "but". Here's where to go from here.
- Full dictionary entry for "box" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "but" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #58,652 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "box" and "but" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "bué vs but". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #58,652 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.