Which to use
“pay” is a verb and “po” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #390
- “pay” frequency rank
- #7,482
- “po” frequency rank
- 7872
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | pay | po |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | To give money or other compensation to in exchange for goods or services. | A peacock. |
Where the eye mixes pay and po
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.
Why the eye confuses pay with po
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: pay is /peɪ/ while po is /pəʊ/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 7872, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
pay is recorded at frequency rank #390, classified as averb, pronounced /peɪ/. po is at rank #7,482, tagged as anoun, pronounced /pəʊ/.
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 7872, this pair ranks #505,193 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of pay vs po
Shared letters: p. Private to "pay": ay. Private to "po": o.
"pay" · 3 letters · shape CVV · "po" · 2 letters · shape CV
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "pay" for "po" ever safe?
Which is more common, "pay" or "po"?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "pay" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "po" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #505,193 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "pay" and "po" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "po vs PPA". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #505,193 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.