Which to use
“page” and “past” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #791
- “page” frequency rank
- #437
- “past” frequency rank
- 1228
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | page | past |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | One of the many pieces of paper bound together within a book or similar document. | The period of time that has already happened, in contrast to the present and the future. |
Where the eye mixes page and past
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
A purely visual mix-up. page (/peɪd͡ʒ/) and past (/pɑːst/) 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 1228, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
page is recorded at frequency rank #791, classified as anoun, pronounced /peɪd͡ʒ/. past is at rank #437, tagged as anoun, pronounced /pɑːst/.
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 1228, this pair ranks #527,842 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of page vs past
Shared letters: ap. Private to "page": eg. Private to "past": st.
"page" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "past" · 4 letters · shape CVCC