Which to use
“pasts” and “phases” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #44,990
- “pasts” frequency rank
- #9,228
- “phases” frequency rank
- 54218
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | pasts | phases |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | plural of past | plural of phase |
Where the eye mixes pasts and phases
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. pasts runs 5 letters (CVCCC) against phases's 6 (CCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses pasts with phases
A purely visual mix-up. pasts (/pɑːsts/) and phases (/ˈfeɪzɪz/) 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 54218, 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/. phases is at rank #9,228, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈfeɪzɪz/.
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 54218, this pair ranks #142,791 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of pasts vs phases
Shared letters: aps. Private to "pasts": t. Private to "phases": eh.
"pasts" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC · "phases" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "pasts" and "phases" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary English text, does "pasts" or "phases" show up more?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "pasts" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "phases" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #142,791 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "pasts" and "phases" 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 #142,791 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.