Which to use
“patted” and “ported” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #37,148
- “patted” frequency rank
- #27,602
- “ported” frequency rank
- 64750
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | patted | ported |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | simple past and past participle of pat | simple past and past participle of port |
Where the eye mixes patted and ported
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: patted vs ported
A purely visual mix-up. patted (/ˈpatɪd/) and ported (/ˈpoɹ.tɪd/) 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 64750, 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/. ported is at rank #27,602, tagged as averb, pronounced /ˈpoɹ.tɪd/.
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 64750, this pair ranks #76,156 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of patted vs ported
Shared letters: dept. Private to "patted": a. Private to "ported": or.
"patted" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "ported" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "patted" and "ported" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "patted" vs "ported" - which ranks higher?
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 "ported" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #76,156 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "patted" and "ported" 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 #76,156 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.