Which to use
“pan” and “pays” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #1,324
- “pan” frequency rank
- #42,064
- “pays” frequency rank
- 43388
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | pan | pays |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Masa a base de harina y agua endurecida por cocción al horno. | País. |
Where the eye mixes pan and pays
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between pan and pays
A purely visual mix-up. pan ([ˈpãn]) and pays (/pɛi/) 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 43388, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
pan is recorded at frequency rank #1,324, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈpãn]. pays is at rank #42,064, tagged as anoun, pronounced /pɛi/.
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 43388, this pair ranks #142,912 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of pan vs pays
Shared letters: ap. Private to "pan": n. Private to "pays": sy.
"pan" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "pays" · 4 letters · shape CVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- pays ← apys · pasy · payss · payys · ppays · pyas
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "pan" for "pays" ever safe?
In ordinary Spanish text, does "pan" or "pays" show up more?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "pan" and "pays" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "pan" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "pays" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #142,912 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "pan" and "pays" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "pa'l vs pays". 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 #142,912 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.