Which to use
“paces” and “pate” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #23,348
- “paces” frequency rank
- #33,784
- “pate” frequency rank
- 57132
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | paces | pate |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | plural of pace | The head, particularly the top or crown. |
Where the eye mixes paces and pate
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between paces and pate
A purely visual mix-up. paces (/ˈpeɪsɪz/) and pate (/peɪt/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 57132, 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/. pate is at rank #33,784, tagged as anoun, pronounced /peɪt/.
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 57132, this pair ranks #121,396 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of paces vs pate
Shared letters: aep. Private to "paces": cs. Private to "pate": t.
"paces" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC · "pate" · 4 letters · shape CVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "paces" for "pate" ever safe?
Which is more common, "paces" or "pate"?
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 "pate" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #121,396 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "paces" and "pate" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "pate vs Pyke". 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 #121,396 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.