Which to use
“paces” and “pasts” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #23,348
- “paces” frequency rank
- #44,990
- “pasts” frequency rank
- 68338
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | paces | pasts |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | plural of pace | plural of past |
Where the eye mixes paces and pasts
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. paces (CVCVC) and pasts (CVCCC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Why the eye confuses paces with pasts
A purely visual mix-up. paces (/ˈpeɪsɪz/) and pasts (/pɑːsts/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 68338, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
paces is recorded at frequency rank #23,348, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈpeɪsɪz/. pasts is at rank #44,990, tagged as anoun, pronounced /pɑːsts/.
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 68338, this pair ranks #59,321 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of paces vs pasts
Shared letters: aps. Private to "paces": ce. Private to "pasts": t.
"paces" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC · "pasts" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "paces" for "pasts" ever safe?
Frequency check: "paces" vs "pasts" - which ranks higher?
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 "paces" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "pasts" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #59,321 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "paces" and "pasts" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Palos vs pasts". 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 #59,321 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.