partsvspathConfusable pair

Which to use

“parts” and “path” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#911
“parts” frequency rank
#2,006
“path” frequency rank
2917
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature parts path
Definition plural of part A trail for the use of, or worn by, pedestrians.

Where the eye mixes parts and path

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.

5 ch
parts
4 ch
path

Look-alike desk: parts vs path

A purely visual mix-up. parts (/pɑːts/) and path (/pɑːθ/) 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 2917, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

parts is recorded at frequency rank #911, classified as anoun, pronounced /pɑːts/. path is at rank #2,006, tagged as anoun, pronounced /pɑːθ/.

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 2917, this pair ranks #523,652 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of parts vs path

Shared letters: apt. Private to "parts": rs. Private to "path": h.

"parts" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC  ·  "path" · 4 letters · shape CVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • partsaprts · parrts · parst · partss · partts · patrs · pparts · prats
  • pathapth · paht · pathh · patth · ppath · ptah

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "parts" and "path" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently (/pɑːts/ versus /pɑːθ/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "parts" or "path"?
"parts" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #911 in our English list, against #2,006 for "path". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "parts" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "path" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #523,652 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "parts" and "path" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Palos vs parts". 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 #523,652 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list