Which to use
“paces” and “paws” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #23,348
- “paces” frequency rank
- #16,553
- “paws” frequency rank
- 39901
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | paces | paws |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | plural of pace | plural of paw |
Where the eye mixes paces and paws
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses paces with paws
A purely visual mix-up. paces (/ˈpeɪsɪz/) and paws (/pɔːz/) 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 39901, 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/. paws is at rank #16,553, tagged as anoun, pronounced /pɔːz/.
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 39901, this pair ranks #272,445 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of paces vs paws
Shared letters: aps. Private to "paces": ce. Private to "paws": w.
"paces" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC · "paws" · 4 letters · shape CVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "paces" and "paws" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "paces" or "paws"?
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 "paces" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "paws" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #272,445 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "paces" and "paws" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "paces vs pecs". 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 #272,445 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.