A VPN operates on the network layer (3) meanwhile a proxy works on the application layer (4) that sits on top of first.
This means that using a vpn will send all network traffic from all apps over it (if configured accordingly) meanwhile a proxy will only work for the http(s) traffic in a browser configured with it.
For most applications, you won’t be able to tell the difference.
And interestingly it is speakable and seems English. Not like „lajevwlsixjwnwl“