pagarsevspasaseWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

“pagarse” and “pasase” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#24,588
“pagarse” frequency rank
#33,263
“pasase” frequency rank
57851
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature pagarse pasase
Definition Prendarse de sí mismo. Primera persona del singular (yo) del pretérito imperfecto de subjuntivo de pasar.

Where the eye mixes pagarse and pasase

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. pagarse runs 7 letters (CVCVCCV) against pasase's 6 (CVCVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

7 ch
pagarse
6 ch
pasase

Why the eye confuses pagarse with pasase

A purely visual mix-up. pagarse ([paˈɣ̞aɾse]) and pasase ([paˈsase]) 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 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 57851, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

pagarse is recorded at frequency rank #24,588, classified as averb, pronounced [paˈɣ̞aɾse]. pasase is at rank #33,263, tagged as averb, pronounced [paˈsase].

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 57851, this pair ranks #68,829 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of pagarse vs pasase

Shared letters: aeps. Private to "pagarse": gr. Private to "pasase": -.

"pagarse" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCCV  ·  "pasase" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • pagarse ← apgarse · paagrse · pagarce · pagares · pagarrse · pagarsse · pagasre · paggarse
  • pasase ← apsase · paasse · pasace · pasaes · pasasse · passae · passase · ppasase

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "pagarse" and "pasase" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([paˈɣ̞aɾse] versus [paˈsase]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "pagarse" or "pasase"?
"pagarse" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #24,588 in our Spanish list, against #33,263 for "pasase". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "pagarse" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "pasase" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #68,829 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "pagarse" and "pasase" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "pasase vs pasearse". 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 #68,829 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list