Which to use
“pau” is a noun and “per” is a preposition - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #2,492
- “pau” frequency rank
- #5,775
- “per” frequency rank
- 8267
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | pau | per |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | bastão de madeira | por |
Letter map: pau vs per
Shared letters muted; letters that set pau and per apart highlighted. Shared run: 1.
Role in the sentence - pau and per
Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: pau is anoun and perapreposition. On the page they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 8267, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
pau is recorded at frequency rank #2,492, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈpaw/. per is at rank #5,775, tagged as aprep.
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 8267, this pair ranks #65,569 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of pau vs per
Shared letters: p. Private to "pau": au. Private to "per": er.
"pau" · 3 letters · shape CVV · "per" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "pau" for "per" ever safe?
Which is more common, "pau" or "per"?
Useful next steps
Pair "pau" vs "per" is on the table, pick a follow-up below.
- Full dictionary entry for "pau" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "per" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #65,569 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "pau" and "per" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "per vs pix". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #65,569 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.