Which to use
“paciente” and “pacientes” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #2,408
- “paciente” frequency rank
- #2,464
- “pacientes” frequency rank
- 4872
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | paciente | pacientes |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Que tiene paciencia, que soporta o padece sin inmutarse. | Forma del plural de paciente. |
Where the eye mixes paciente and pacientes
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: paciente vs pacientes
A purely visual mix-up. paciente ([paˈsjẽn̪t̪e]) and pacientes ([paˈsjẽn̪t̪es]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “paciente” sits inside “pacientes”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 4872, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
paciente is recorded at frequency rank #2,408, classified as anadj, pronounced [paˈsjẽn̪t̪e]. pacientes is at rank #2,464, tagged as anadj, pronounced [paˈsjẽn̪t̪es].
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 4872, this pair ranks #315,033 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of paciente vs pacientes
Shared letters: aceinpt. Private to "paciente": -. Private to "pacientes": s.
"paciente" · 8 letters · shape CVCVVCCV · "pacientes" · 9 letters · shape CVCVVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "paciente" for "pacientes" ever safe?
In ordinary Spanish text, does "paciente" or "pacientes" show up more?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "paciente" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "pacientes" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #315,033 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "paciente" and "pacientes" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "pacientes vs pudientes". 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 #315,033 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.