pay

/peɪ/

//peɪ// verb

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

The verdict

“pay” sits in 20 confusable pairs (corpus #23,167) as a verb. The look-alike neighbours are the real trap.

#23,167
frequency rank, Spanish
6,028
“P” headwords
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Pagar.

Corpus desk

Index ES-pay · pay · Spanish

pay · rank #23,167 · 0 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #23,167
  • LEN-MID 3 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 6,028
  • PHOTO-FINISH pasea

Nearest frequency peer: pasea (-1 rank slots)

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.

Frequency neighbourhood for “pay”

Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)

corpus weight

What this shows Bars show where “pay” sits against the nearest ranked Spanish headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.

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).

pay vs PP
0% similar
pay vs pm
33% similar
pay vs po
33% similar

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

Key facts for pay
PropertyValue
Headwordpay
LanguageSpanish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/peɪ/
Letters3
Frequency rank#23,167
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “pay” sits in Spanish frequency

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).pay lands here:

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

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Easy to mix with look-alikes

The spelling risk for pay is neighbouring look-alikes ("PP", "pm", …), not just typos; it is averb pronounced /peɪ/. Frequency #23,167 among 6,028 “P” headwords. 4 recorded senses keep meaning in play.

Zero misspellings are on record for pay in our index, a straightforward case of a spelling with little room for common typos. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "PP", "pm", "po", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Our source data has no etymology on file for this entry, so its spelling pattern is best understood through pronunciation rather than a traceable origin. The correct Spanish form is pay, spelled P-A-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    Pagar.
  2. 2
    Ser rentable, suponer negocio.
  3. 3
    Dar, poner, prestar.
  4. 4
    Compensar, merecer la pena, valer la pena.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how pay appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Pay attention - Prestar atención.
  2. Crime doesn't pay - La delincuencia no compensa.

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 Spanish corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

PlainSpell is rendered directly from structured Wiktionary extracts and open word-frequency lists, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of September 3, 2026. Primary sources: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) and FrequencyWords.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "pay"?
"pay" is spelled P-A-Y. The IPA pronunciation is /peɪ/.
What does "pay" mean?
As a verb, "pay" means: Pagar.
What words are commonly confused with "pay"?
"pay" is commonly confused with "PP", "pm", "po". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "pay"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "pay" is /peɪ/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "pay" come from?
"pay" is a Spanish word. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for this and other words across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German on PlainSpell.
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 Spanish words by spelling shape

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

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked Spanish headwords with 3 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

lam#23,117had#23,083uma#23,265abs#23,283

What to do next

You've looked up "pay". Here's where to go from here.

  • "pay" maps to 20 confusable pairs in this vintage; the highest-scored is "PP". View pair
  • Usage frequency rank #23,167 among Spanish headwords in this corpus. Corpus statistics
  • Browse more Spanish words in the "P" letter cohort. P–Z browse

PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.

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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list