Which to use
“pesto” and “posts” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #33,789
- “pesto” frequency rank
- #2,265
- “posts” frequency rank
- 36054
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | pesto | posts |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | A sauce, especially for pasta, originating from the Genoa region in Italy, made from basil, garlic, pine nuts, olive oil and cheese (usually pecorino). | plural of post |
Where the eye mixes pesto and posts
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between pesto and posts
A purely visual mix-up. pesto (/ˈpɛstoʊ/) and posts (/pəʊsts/) 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 36054, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
pesto is recorded at frequency rank #33,789, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈpɛstoʊ/. posts is at rank #2,265, tagged as anoun, pronounced /pəʊsts/.
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 36054, this pair ranks #306,569 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of pesto vs posts
Shared letters: opst. Private to "pesto": e. Private to "posts": -.
"pesto" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV · "posts" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "pesto" for "posts" ever safe?
Which is more common, "pesto" or "posts"?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "pesto" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "posts" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #306,569 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "pesto" and "posts" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "pester vs pesto". 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 #306,569 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.