Which to use
“países” and “pasos” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #354
- “países” frequency rank
- #1,952
- “pasos” frequency rank
- 2306
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | países | pasos |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Forma del plural de país. | En algunos deportes, en especial el baloncesto y el balonmano, falta que consiste en dar más de tres pasos con la pelota en la mano sin botarla. |
Where the eye mixes países and pasos
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between países and pasos
A purely visual mix-up. países ([paˈises]) and pasos ([ˈpasos]) 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 2306, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
países is recorded at frequency rank #354, classified as anoun, pronounced [paˈises]. pasos is at rank #1,952, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈpasos].
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 2306, this pair ranks #320,590 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of países vs pasos
Shared letters: aps. Private to "países": eí. Private to "pasos": o.
"países" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC · "pasos" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- pasos ← apsos · paoss · pasoss · passos · ppasos · psaos
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "países" and "pasos" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "países" or "pasos"?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "países" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "pasos" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #320,590 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "países" and "pasos" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "países vs peines". 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 #320,590 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.