pasavspusConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#270
“pasa” frequency rank
#26,976
“pus” frequency rank
27246
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature pasa pus
Definition Uva seca, deshidratada parcialmente, sea de forma natural o por acción humana al cocerla al calor. Sustancia blanquecina o amarillenta producida por el cuerpo durante procesos infecciosos. Está compuesto, principalmente, por microorganismos muertos, glóbulos blancos muertos, y restos de tejido dañado.

Where the eye mixes pasa and pus

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.

4 ch
pasa
3 ch
pus

Why the eye confuses pasa with pus

A purely visual mix-up. pasa ([ˈpasa]) and pus ([ˈpus]) 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 27246, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

pasa is recorded at frequency rank #270, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈpasa]. pus is at rank #26,976, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈpus].

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 27246, this pair ranks #227,788 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of pasa vs pus

Shared letters: ps. Private to "pasa": a. Private to "pus": u.

"pasa" · 4 letters · shape CVCV  ·  "pus" · 3 letters · shape CVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • pasaapsa · paas · passa · ppasa · psaa

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "pasa" and "pus" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈpasa] versus [ˈpus]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "pasa" or "pus"?
"pasa" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #270 in our Spanish list, against #26,976 for "pus". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

After this comparison

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "pasa" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "pus" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #227,788 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "pasa" and "pus" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "PRC vs pus". 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 #227,788 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