Which to use
“parr” and “pas” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #28,661
- “parr” frequency rank
- #13,210
- “pas” frequency rank
- 41871
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | parr | pas |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Young salmon, at a stage between fry and smolt when they feed chiefly on invertebrates but cannot tolerate saltwater. | The right of going foremost; precedence. |
Where the eye mixes parr and pas
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses parr with pas
A purely visual mix-up. parr (/pɑː(ɹ)/) and pas (/pɑː/) 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 41871, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
parr is recorded at frequency rank #28,661, classified as anoun, pronounced /pɑː(ɹ)/. pas is at rank #13,210, tagged as anoun, pronounced /pɑː/.
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 41871, this pair ranks #254,378 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of parr vs pas
Shared letters: ap. Private to "parr": r. Private to "pas": s.
"parr" · 4 letters · shape CVCC · "pas" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- parr ← aprr · pparr · prar
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "parr" and "pas" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "parr" vs "pas" - 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 "parr" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "pas" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #254,378 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "parr" and "pas" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "parr vs pert". 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 #254,378 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.