Which to use
“parted” is a verb and “paste” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #16,296
- “parted” frequency rank
- #8,183
- “paste” frequency rank
- 24479
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | parted | paste |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | simple past and past participle of part | A soft moist mixture, in particular: |
Where the eye mixes parted and paste
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses parted with paste
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: parted is /ˈpɑɹtɪd/ while paste is /peɪst/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 24479, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
parted is recorded at frequency rank #16,296, classified as averb, pronounced /ˈpɑɹtɪd/. paste is at rank #8,183, tagged as anoun, pronounced /peɪst/.
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 24479, this pair ranks #401,637 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of parted vs paste
Shared letters: aept. Private to "parted": dr. Private to "paste": s.
"parted" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "paste" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "parted" and "paste" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "parted" or "paste"?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "parted" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "paste" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #401,637 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "parted" and "paste" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "parley vs parted". 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 #401,637 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.