Which to use
“pagan” is a verb and “pega” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #3,867
- “pagan” frequency rank
- #5,143
- “pega” frequency rank
- 9010
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | pagan | pega |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de pagar o de pagarse. | Acción de pegar o conglutinar una cosa con otra. |
Where the eye mixes pagan and pega
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. pagan runs 5 letters (CVCVC) against pega's 4 (CVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: pagan vs pega
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: pagan is [ˈpaɣ̞ãn] while pega is [ˈpeɣ̞a]. 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 9010, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
pagan is recorded at frequency rank #3,867, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈpaɣ̞ãn]. pega is at rank #5,143, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈpeɣ̞a].
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 9010, this pair ranks #303,233 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of pagan vs pega
Shared letters: agp. Private to "pagan": n. Private to "pega": e.
"pagan" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC · "pega" · 4 letters · shape CVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "pagan" for "pega" ever safe?
In ordinary Spanish text, does "pagan" or "pega" show up more?
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 "pagan" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "pega" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #303,233 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "pagan" and "pega" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "pega vs petar". 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 #303,233 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.