paguevspaguesTell them apart

Which to use

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

#7,608
“pague” frequency rank
#24,589
“pagues” frequency rank
32197
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature pague pagues
Definition Primera persona del singular (yo) del presente de subjuntivo de pagar o de pagarse. Segunda persona del singular (tú) del presente de subjuntivo de pagar o de pagarse.

Where the eye mixes pague and pagues

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

5 ch
pague
6 ch
pagues

Visual trap between pague and pagues

A purely visual mix-up. pague ([ˈpaɣ̞e]) and pagues ([ˈpaɣ̞es]) 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) - “pague” sits inside “pagues”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 32197, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

pague is recorded at frequency rank #7,608, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈpaɣ̞e]. pagues is at rank #24,589, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈpaɣ̞es].

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 32197, this pair ranks #203,249 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of pague vs pagues

Shared letters: aegpu. Private to "pague": -. Private to "pagues": s.

"pague" · 5 letters · shape CVCVV  ·  "pagues" · 6 letters · shape CVCVVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • pague ← apgue · pageu · paggue · pauge · pgaue · ppague
  • pagues ← apgues · pageus · paggues · paguess · paguse · pauges · pgaues · ppagues

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "pague" for "pagues" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈpaɣ̞e] versus [ˈpaɣ̞es]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "pague" or "pagues"?
"pague" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #7,608 in our Spanish list, against #24,589 for "pagues". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "pague" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "pagues" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #203,249 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "pague" and "pagues" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "paguemos vs pagues". 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 #203,249 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