pace vs pad, What's the Difference?

Which to use

“pace” is a verb and “pad” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#35,175
“pace” frequency rank: #31,908
“pad” frequency rank: 67083
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	pace	pad
Definition	Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de pacer.	Periférico táctil presente en las notebooks y otros dispositivos portátiles que permite el movimiento de un cursor sobre una interfaz gráfica; funciona como alternativa al mouse.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set pace and pad apart are highlighted. They share 2 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch

pace

3 ch

pad

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

pace and pad form a confusable pair in the Spanish index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They differ by 1 letter(s) in length - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 67083, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

pace is recorded at frequency rank #35,175, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈpase]. pad is at rank #31,908, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈpað̞].

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 67083, this pair ranks #38,068 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Frequency comparison

pace#35,175

pad#31,908

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "pace" and "pad" be used interchangeably?

No, "pace" and "pad" have distinct meanings and cannot be swapped without changing the meaning of a sentence. Understanding the specific definition and context for each word is essential for correct usage.

Remembering pace vs pad

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “pace”; for a noun, it's “pad”.
See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “pace” entry
Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable