Which to use
“pasts” is a noun and “pasty” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #44,990
- “pasts” frequency rank
- #33,783
- “pasty” frequency rank
- 78773
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | pasts | pasty |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | plural of past | Like paste, sticky. |
Where the eye mixes pasts and pasty
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. pasts (CVCCC) and pasty (CVCCV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Look-alike desk: pasts vs pasty
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: pasts is /pɑːsts/ while pasty is /ˈpeɪsti/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - s in “pasts” becomes y in “pasty”, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 78773, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
pasts is recorded at frequency rank #44,990, classified as anoun, pronounced /pɑːsts/. pasty is at rank #33,783, tagged as anadj, pronounced /ˈpeɪsti/.
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 78773, this pair ranks #23,818 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of pasts vs pasty
Shared letters: apst. Private to "pasts": -. Private to "pasty": y.
"pasts" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC · "pasty" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "pasts" and "pasty" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "pasts" or "pasty"?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "pasts" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "pasty" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #23,818 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "pasts" and "pasty" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Palos vs pasts". 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 #23,818 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.