Which to use
“per” and “pro” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #5,775
- “per” frequency rank
- #1,173
- “pro” frequency rank
- 6948
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | per | pro |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | por | para |
Letter map: per vs pro
Shared letters muted; letters that set per and pro apart highlighted. Shared run: 2.
Pair insight - per / pro
per and pro are indexed as a confusable Portuguese pair. We have no recorded pronunciation or part of speech for both members, so the spelling overlap is what we can show you: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 6948, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
per is recorded at frequency rank #5,775, classified as aprep. pro is at rank #1,173, tagged as aprep, pronounced /ˈprɔ/ ouvir^(fonte ?).
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 6948, this pair ranks #67,328 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of per vs pro
Shared letters: pr. Private to "per": e. Private to "pro": o.
"per" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "pro" · 3 letters · shape CCV
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "per" for "pro" ever safe?
Which is more common, "per" or "pro"?
Useful next steps
Pair "per" vs "pro" is on the table, pick a follow-up below.
- Full dictionary entry for "per" 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 #67,328 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "per" and "pro" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "per vs pix". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #67,328 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.