Which to use
“patent” and “patina” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #5,345
- “patent” frequency rank
- #42,812
- “patina” frequency rank
- 48157
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | patent | patina |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | An official document granting an appointment, privilege, or right, or some property or title; letters patent. | A paten, flat type of dish. |
Where the eye mixes patent and patina
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. patent (CVCVCC) and patina (CVCVCV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Visual trap between patent and patina
A purely visual mix-up. patent (/ˈpeɪtənt/) and patina (/ˈpætɪnə/) 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 48157, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
patent is recorded at frequency rank #5,345, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈpeɪtənt/. patina is at rank #42,812, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈpætɪnə/.
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 48157, this pair ranks #195,719 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of patent vs patina
Shared letters: anpt. Private to "patent": e. Private to "patina": i.
"patent" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCC · "patina" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "patent" for "patina" ever safe?
Which is more common, "patent" or "patina"?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "patent" and "patina" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "patent" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "patina" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #195,719 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "patent" and "patina" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Patil vs patina". 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 #195,719 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.