pedovspestoWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“pedo” and “pesto” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#35,454
“pedo” frequency rank
#33,789
“pesto” frequency rank
69243
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature pedo pesto
Definition Alternative spelling of paedo (“pedophile”). A sauce, especially for pasta, originating from the Genoa region in Italy, made from basil, garlic, pine nuts, olive oil and cheese (usually pecorino).

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set pedo and pesto apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch
pedo
5 ch
pesto

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. pedo (/ˈpɛd.əʊ/) and pesto (/ˈpɛstoʊ/) 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 69243, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

pedo is recorded at frequency rank #35,454, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈpɛd.əʊ/. pesto is at rank #33,789, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈpɛstoʊ/.

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 69243, this pair ranks #55,425 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of pedo vs pesto

Shared letters: eop. Private to "pedo": d. Private to "pesto": st.

"pedo" · 4 letters · shape CVCV  ·  "pesto" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • pedoepdo · pdeo · peddo · peod · ppedo
  • pestoepsto · pesot · pessto · pestto · petso · ppesto · pseto

Frequency comparison

pedo#35,454
pesto#33,789

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "pedo" and "pesto" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (/ˈpɛd.əʊ/ versus /ˈpɛstoʊ/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "pedo" or "pesto"?
"pesto" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #33,789 in our English list, against #35,454 for "pedo". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering pedo vs pesto

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “pedo” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list