pasta

/ˈpæs.tə/

//ˈpæs.tə// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"pasta" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“pasta” has 7 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #8,072. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#8,072
frequency rank, English
4,417
“P” headwords
7
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Dough made from wheat and water and sometimes mixed with egg and formed into various shapes; often sold in dried form and typically boiled for eating.

Corpus desk

Index EN-pasta · pasta · English

pasta · rank #8,072 · 7 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #8,072
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 7 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,417
  • PHOTO-FINISH outline

Nearest frequency peer: outline (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “pasta”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “pasta” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

pasta vs pat
60% similar
pasta vs PSA
0% similar
pasta vs PST
0% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for pasta
PropertyValue
Headwordpasta
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈpæs.tə/
Letters5
Frequency rank#8,072
Misspellings tracked7
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “pasta”

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).pastalands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Same rarity band neighbours include “outline” (#8,071), “pi” (#8,073), “Oakland” (#8,070). Among 4,417 “P” headwords, “pasta” is #8,072. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 7 spelling variants around pasta (IPA /ˈpæs.tə/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #8,072 among 4,417 “P” headwords. Wiktionary lists 4 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 7 likely wrong-spelling variants for pasta, with forms such as "apsta", "pasat", and "passta". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "pat", "PSA", "PST", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from Italian pasta (“paste; pasta, noodles”), from Late Latin pasta (“dough, pastry cake, paste”), from Ancient Greek παστά (pastá, “barley porridge”), neuter plural of παστός (pastós, “sprinkled with salt”), from Ancient Greek πάσσω (pássō, “to sp… The correct English form is pasta, spelled P-A-S-T-A.

Definition

  1. 1
    Dough made from wheat and water and sometimes mixed with egg and formed into various shapes; often sold in dried form and typically boiled for eating.
  2. 2
    Dough made from wheat and water and sometimes mixed with egg and formed into various shapes; often sold in dried form and typically boiled for eating.
  3. 3
    A dish or serving of pasta.
  4. 4
    A type of pasta.

Etymology

Borrowed from Italian pasta (“paste; pasta, noodles”), from Late Latin pasta (“dough, pastry cake, paste”), from Ancient Greek παστά (pastá, “barley porridge”), neuter plural of παστός (pastós, “sprinkled with salt”), from Ancient Greek πάσσω (pássō, “to sprinkle”), from Proto-Indo-European *kʷeh₁t- (“to shake”). Doublet of paste. Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *(s)kweh₁t-der. Ancient Greek πάσσω (pássō) Proto-Indo-European *-tós Ancient Greek -τός (-tós) Ancient Greek παστός (pastós) Ancient Greek παστά (pastá)bor. Late Latin pasta Italian pastabor. English pasta

Synonyms

macaroninoodlepastapaste

This word in other languages

pasta(Español)pâtes(Français)Nudeln(Deutsch)massa(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • apsta
  • pasat
  • passta
  • pastta
  • patsa
  • ppasta
  • psata

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of pasta - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

apsta2pasat2passta1pastta1patsa2ppasta1psata2
Edit distance from "pasta"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "pasta"?
"pasta" is spelled P-A-S-T-A. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈpæs.tə/.
What does "pasta" mean?
As a noun, "pasta" means: Dough made from wheat and water and sometimes mixed with egg and formed into various shapes; often sold in dried form and typically boiled for eating.
What words are commonly confused with "pasta"?
"pasta" is commonly confused with "pat", "PSA", "PST". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "pasta"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "pasta" is /ˈpæs.tə/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "pasta"?
Borrowed from Italian pasta (“paste; pasta, noodles”), from Late Latin pasta (“dough, pastry cake, paste”), from Ancient Greek παστά (pastá, “barley porridge”), neuter plural of παστός (pastós, “sprinkled with salt”), from Ancient Greek πάσσω (pás... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "pasta", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

randy#8,078Marco#8,063Tampa#8,096tenth#8,097

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (7 here; floor ≥5).

honda7 variantsaerial7 variantsdonor7 variantsbaked7 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list