Which to use
“past” is a noun and “PMS” is an abbrev - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #23,262
- “past” frequency rank
- #49,966
- “PMS” frequency rank
- 73228
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | past | PMS |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Vergangenheit, Vorleben | Abkürzung für Prämenstruelles Syndrom |
Where the eye mixes past and PMS
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between past and PMS
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: past is [pɑːst] while PMS is [peːʔɛmˈʔɛs]. 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 (noun vs abbrev), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 73228, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
past is recorded at frequency rank #23,262, classified as anoun, pronounced [pɑːst]. PMS is at rank #49,966, tagged as anabbrev, pronounced [peːʔɛmˈʔɛs].
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 73228, this pair ranks #366,171 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of past vs PMS
Shared letters: ps. Private to "past": at. Private to "PMS": m.
"past" · 4 letters · shape CVCC · "PMS" · 3 letters · shape CCC
Known mistypes of this pair
- past ← apst · pastt · pats · psat
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "past" and "PMS" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary German text, does "past" or "PMS" show up more?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "past" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "PMS" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #366,171 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "past" and "PMS" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Pau 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 #366,171 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.