Which to use
“pasts” and “paths” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #44,990
- “pasts” frequency rank
- #6,945
- “paths” frequency rank
- 51935
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | pasts | paths |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | plural of past | plural of path |
Where the eye mixes pasts and paths
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: pasts vs paths
A purely visual mix-up. pasts (/pɑːsts/) 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 share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 51935, 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/. 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 51935, this pair ranks #161,277 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of pasts vs paths
Shared letters: apst. Private to "pasts": -. Private to "paths": h.
"pasts" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC · "paths" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "pasts" for "paths" ever safe?
Frequency check: "pasts" vs "paths" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "pasts" and "paths" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "pasts" 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 #161,277 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "pasts" and "paths" 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 #161,277 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.