Which to use
“patted” and “plated” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #37,148
- “patted” frequency rank
- #16,092
- “plated” frequency rank
- 53240
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | patted | plated |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | simple past and past participle of pat | simple past and past participle of plate |
Where the eye mixes patted and plated
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. patted (CVCCVC) and plated (CCVCVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Why the eye confuses patted with plated
A purely visual mix-up. patted (/ˈpatɪd/) and plated (/ˈpleɪtɪd/) 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 53240, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
patted is recorded at frequency rank #37,148, classified as averb, pronounced /ˈpatɪd/. plated is at rank #16,092, tagged as averb, pronounced /ˈpleɪtɪd/.
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 53240, this pair ranks #150,627 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of patted vs plated
Shared letters: adept. Private to "patted": -. Private to "plated": l.
"patted" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "plated" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "patted" for "plated" ever safe?
Which is more common, "patted" or "plated"?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "patted" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "plated" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #150,627 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "patted" and "plated" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "pared vs patted". 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 #150,627 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.