Which to use
“pace” is a verb and “pat” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #35,175
- “pace” frequency rank
- #14,422
- “pat” frequency rank
- 49597
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | pace | pat |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de pacer. | Cazón. |
Where the eye mixes pace and pat
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: pace vs pat
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: pace is [ˈpase] while pat is /pat/. 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 49597, 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]. pat is at rank #14,422, tagged as anoun, pronounced /pat/.
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 49597, this pair ranks #107,915 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of pace vs pat
Shared letters: ap. Private to "pace": ce. Private to "pat": t.
"pace" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "pat" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- pace ← apce · pacce · paec · pcae · ppace
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "pace" for "pat" ever safe?
Frequency check: "pace" vs "pat" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "pace" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "pat" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #107,915 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "pace" and "pat" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "pace vs PRC". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #107,915 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.