pat vs PU, What's the Difference?

Which to use

“pat” is a noun and “PU” is an intj - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#4,785
“pat” frequency rank: #16,315
“PU” frequency rank: 21100
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	pat	PU
Definition	The sound of a light slap or tap with a soft flat object, especially of a footstep.	Alternative form of P U; expression used when encountering a displeasing smell; exaggerated pronunciation of pew.

Letter map: pat vs PU

Shared letters muted; letters that set pat and PU apart highlighted. Shared run: 1.

3 ch

pat

2 ch

Part-of-speech tell for pat / PU

Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: pat is anoun and PUanintj. On the page they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 21100, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

pat is recorded at frequency rank #4,785, classified as anoun, pronounced /pæt/. PU is at rank #16,315, tagged as anintj.

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 21100, this pair ranks #426,392 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of pat vs PU

Shared letters: p. Private to "pat": at. Private to "PU": u.

"pat" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "PU" · 2 letters · shape CV

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "pat" and "PU" mean the same thing in a sentence?

No - they are not even the same part of speech. "pat" is a noun and "PU" an intj, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.

Frequency check: "pat" vs "PU" - which ranks higher?

"pat" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,785 in our English list, against #16,315 for "PU". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Pair "pat" vs "PU" is on the table, pick a follow-up below.

Full dictionary entry for "pat" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
Full dictionary entry for "PU" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
This pair ranks #426,392 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
"pat" and "PU" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "PPA vs PU". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #426,392 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.