pacevsparceWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: pace is a verb, parce is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

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

#35,175
“pace” frequency rank
#46,104
“parce” frequency rank
81279
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature pace parce
Definition Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de pacer. Amigo, compañero, socio o cómplice con quien se tiene mucha intimidad.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set pace and parce apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch
pace
5 ch
parce

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: pace is [ˈpase] while parce is [ˈpaɾse]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 81279, 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]. parce is at rank #46,104, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈpaɾse].

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 81279, this pair ranks #10,602 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of pace vs parce

Shared letters: acep. Private to "pace": -. Private to "parce": r.

"pace" · 4 letters · shape CVCV  ·  "parce" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • paceapce · pacce · paec · pcae · ppace
  • parceaprce · pacre · parcce · parec · parrce · pparce · prace

Frequency comparison

pace#35,175
parce#46,104

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "pace" and "parce" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "pace" is a verb and "parce" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "pace" or "parce"?
"pace" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #35,175 in our Spanish list, against #46,104 for "parce". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering pace vs parce

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 “parce”.
  • 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

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list