paivspezConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#28,489
“pai” frequency rank
#5,028
“pez” frequency rank
33517
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature pai pez
Definition (coloquial) Tarta, quiche Cualquiera de unas 30 000 especies de animales vertebrados, caracterizados por ser los únicos adaptados a respirar agua durante todo su ciclo vital. Forman un grupo sin rigor taxonómico que comprende varios grupos evolutivos diferentes, que sólo tienen en común su adaptación al medio acuático.

Where the eye mixes pai and pez

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.

3 ch
pai
3 ch
pez

Look-alike desk: pai vs pez

A purely visual mix-up. pai ([ˈpɑ̝i̯]) and pez ([ˈpes]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 33517, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

pai is recorded at frequency rank #28,489, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈpɑ̝i̯]. pez is at rank #5,028, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈpes].

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 33517, this pair ranks #196,389 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of pai vs pez

Shared letters: p. Private to "pai": ai. Private to "pez": ez.

"pai" · 3 letters · shape CVV  ·  "pez" · 3 letters · shape CVC

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "pai" for "pez" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈpɑ̝i̯] versus [ˈpes]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "pai" or "pez"?
"pez" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,028 in our Spanish list, against #28,489 for "pai". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "pai" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "pez" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #196,389 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "pai" and "pez" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "pai vs PRC". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #196,389 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