Which to use
“pasts” and “pats” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #44,990
- “pasts” frequency rank
- #19,160
- “pats” frequency rank
- 64150
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | pasts | pats |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | plural of past | plural of pat |
Where the eye mixes pasts and pats
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
A purely visual mix-up. pasts (/pɑːsts/) and pats (/pæts/) 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 64150, 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/. pats is at rank #19,160, tagged as anoun, pronounced /pæts/.
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 64150, this pair ranks #79,226 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of pasts vs pats
Shared letters: apst. Private to "pasts": -. Private to "pats": -.
"pasts" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC · "pats" · 4 letters · shape CVCC