Which to use
“pate” is a noun and “payed” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #33,784
- “pate” frequency rank
- #30,911
- “payed” frequency rank
- 64695
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | pate | payed |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | The head, particularly the top or crown. | Obsolete spelling of paid. |
Letter map: pate vs payed
Shared letters muted; letters that set pate and payed apart highlighted. Shared run: 3.
Grammar separator: pate vs payed
Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: pate is anoun and payedaverb. On the page they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 64695, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
pate is recorded at frequency rank #33,784, classified as anoun, pronounced /peɪt/. payed is at rank #30,911, tagged as averb.
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 64695, this pair ranks #76,408 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of pate vs payed
Shared letters: aep. Private to "pate": t. Private to "payed": dy.
"pate" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "payed" · 5 letters · shape CVVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "pate" and "payed" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "pate" vs "payed" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Done with this confusable. These links stay specific to "pate" and "payed".
- Full dictionary entry for "pate" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "payed" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #76,408 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "pate" and "payed" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "pate vs Pyke". 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 #76,408 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.