Which to use
“pas” and “paths” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #13,210
- “pas” frequency rank
- #6,945
- “paths” frequency rank
- 20155
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | pas | paths |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | The right of going foremost; precedence. | plural of path |
Where the eye mixes pas and paths
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: pas vs paths
A purely visual mix-up. pas (/pɑː/) and paths (/pɑːðz/) 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 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 20155, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
pas is recorded at frequency rank #13,210, classified as anoun, pronounced /pɑː/. paths is at rank #6,945, tagged as anoun, pronounced /pɑːðz/.
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 20155, this pair ranks #433,126 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of pas vs paths
Shared letters: aps. Private to "pas": -. Private to "paths": ht.
"pas" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "paths" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC
Known mistypes of this pair
- paths ← apths · pahts · pathhs · pathss · patsh · patths · ppaths · ptahs
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "pas" for "paths" ever safe?
In ordinary English text, does "pas" or "paths" show up more?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "pas" and "paths" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "pas" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "paths" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #433,126 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "pas" and "paths" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "pas vs PPA". 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 #433,126 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.