Which to use
“path” and “pathos” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #2,006
- “path” frequency rank
- #35,870
- “pathos” frequency rank
- 37876
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | path | pathos |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | A trail for the use of, or worn by, pedestrians. | The quality or property of anything which touches the feelings or excites emotions and passions, especially that which awakens tender emotions, such as pity, sorrow, and the like; contagious warmth of feeling, action, or expression; pathetic quality. |
Where the eye mixes path and pathos
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between path and pathos
A purely visual mix-up. path (/pɑːθ/) and pathos (/ˈpeɪˌθɒs/) 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 2 extra letter(s) - “path” sits inside “pathos”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 37876, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
path is recorded at frequency rank #2,006, classified as anoun, pronounced /pɑːθ/. pathos is at rank #35,870, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈpeɪˌθɒs/.
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 37876, this pair ranks #290,719 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of path vs pathos
Shared letters: ahpt. Private to "path": -. Private to "pathos": os.
"path" · 4 letters · shape CVCC · "pathos" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "path" for "pathos" ever safe?
Which is more common, "path" or "pathos"?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "path" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "pathos" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #290,719 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "path" and "pathos" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Palos vs pathos". 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 #290,719 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.