Which to use
“pah” is an intj and “pays” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #29,274
- “pah” frequency rank
- #41,381
- “pays” frequency rank
- 70655
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | pah | pays |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Ausdruck für Geringschätzung oder Verachtung | Plural des Substantivs pay |
Where the eye mixes pah and pays
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence. pah runs 3 letters (CVC) against pays's 4 (CVVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between pah and pays
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: pah is [paː] while pays is [peɪz]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (intj vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 70655, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
pah is recorded at frequency rank #29,274, classified as anintj, pronounced [paː]. pays is at rank #41,381, tagged as anoun, pronounced [peɪz].
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 70655, this pair ranks #439,768 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of pah vs pays
Shared letters: ap. Private to "pah": h. Private to "pays": sy.
"pah" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "pays" · 4 letters · shape CVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- pays ← apys · pasy · payss · payys · ppays · pyas
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "pah" for "pays" ever safe?
Which is more common, "pah" or "pays"?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "pah" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "pays" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #439,768 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "pah" and "pays" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "pays vs PMS". 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 #439,768 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.