pagar el pato
[paˈɣ̞aɾ el ˈpat̪o]
The verdict
“pagar el pato” is uncommon Spanish (outside the top frequency list), classed as a phrase. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency Spanish
- 13
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Sufrir las consecuencias de una decisión o una acción ajena.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | pagar el pato |
| Language | Spanish |
| Part of speech | Phrase |
| IPA | [paˈɣ̞aɾ el ˈpat̪o] |
| Letters | 13 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “pagar el pato” sits in Spanish frequency
Rare enough to double-check
pagar el pato is uncommon Spanish outside the top frequency list, classed as aphrase, transcribed [paˈɣ̞aɾ el ˈpat̪o]. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Sufrir las consecuencias de una decisión o una acción ajena.".
pagar el pato doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.
No documented word history exists for this headword, so any spelling logic here comes from how the word's sounds map to letters, not a documented origin story. The correct Spanish form is pagar el pato, spelled P-A-G-A-R- -E-L- -P-A-T-O.
Definition
- 1Sufrir las consecuencias de una decisión o una acción ajena.
Synonyms
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Using “pagar el pato”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct Spanish spelling is P-A-G-A-R- -E-L- -P-A-T-O - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as [paˈɣ̞aɾ el ˈpat̪o] (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Browse more Spanish words and confusable pairs in the same reference. Spanish words
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.