Which to use
“pave” and “pay” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #22,172
- “pave” frequency rank
- #390
- “pay” frequency rank
- 22562
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | pave | pay |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | To cover something with paving slabs. | To give money or other compensation to in exchange for goods or services. |
Where the eye mixes pave and pay
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses pave with pay
A purely visual mix-up. pave (/peɪv/) and pay (/peɪ/) 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 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 22562, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
pave is recorded at frequency rank #22,172, classified as averb, pronounced /peɪv/. pay is at rank #390, tagged as averb, pronounced /peɪ/.
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 22562, this pair ranks #415,676 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of pave vs pay
Shared letters: ap. Private to "pave": ev. Private to "pay": y.
"pave" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "pay" · 3 letters · shape CVV
Known mistypes of this pair
- pave ← apve · paev · pavve · ppave · pvae
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "pave" for "pay" ever safe?
Which is more common, "pave" or "pay"?
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 "pave" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "pay" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #415,676 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "pave" and "pay" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "pave 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 #415,676 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.