Which to use
“pair” and “past” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #1,955
- “pair” frequency rank
- #437
- “past” frequency rank
- 2392
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | pair | past |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Two alike or identical things taken together; often followed by of. | The period of time that has already happened, in contrast to the present and the future. |
Where the eye mixes pair and past
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
A purely visual mix-up. pair (/pɛə/) 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 2392, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
pair is recorded at frequency rank #1,955, classified as anoun, pronounced /pɛə/. 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 2392, this pair ranks #525,094 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of pair vs past
Shared letters: ap. Private to "pair": ir. Private to "past": st.
"pair" · 4 letters · shape CVVC · "past" · 4 letters · shape CVCC