Which to use
“pass” and “plans” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #952
- “pass” frequency rank
- #1,055
- “plans” frequency rank
- 2007
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | pass | plans |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | To change place. | third-person singular simple present indicative of plan |
Where the eye mixes pass and plans
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
A purely visual mix-up. pass (/pɑːs/) and plans (/plænz/) 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 2007, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
pass is recorded at frequency rank #952, classified as averb, pronounced /pɑːs/. plans is at rank #1,055, tagged as averb, pronounced /plænz/.
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 2007, this pair ranks #526,078 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of pass vs plans
Shared letters: aps. Private to "pass": -. Private to "plans": ln.
"pass" · 4 letters · shape CVCC · "plans" · 5 letters · shape CCVCC