Which to use
“pasaba” is a verb and “patata” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #3,276
- “pasaba” frequency rank
- #16,664
- “patata” frequency rank
- 19940
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | pasaba | patata |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Primera persona del singular (yo) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de pasar. | (Solanum tuberosum) Planta herbácea, caducifolia, de la familia de las solanáceas, de tallo erecto o decumbente de hasta 1 m de largo, hojas imparipinnadas, de foliolos lanceolados, pilosas, y flores en inflorescencias terminales racemosas, de pétalos fusionados de color blanco a púrpura, que fructifican en pequeñas bayas. Se la aprecia por los tubérculos que produce su sistema radical, muy usados en gastronomía. |
Where the eye mixes pasaba and patata
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses pasaba with patata
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: pasaba is [paˈsaβ̞a] while patata is [paˈt̪at̪a]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 19940, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
pasaba is recorded at frequency rank #3,276, classified as averb, pronounced [paˈsaβ̞a]. patata is at rank #16,664, tagged as anoun, pronounced [paˈt̪at̪a].
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 19940, this pair ranks #261,527 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of pasaba vs patata
Shared letters: ap. Private to "pasaba": bs. Private to "patata": t.
"pasaba" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV · "patata" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "pasaba" and "patata" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "pasaba" vs "patata" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "pasaba" and "patata" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "pasaba" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "patata" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #261,527 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "pasaba" and "patata" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "pacta vs patata". 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 #261,527 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.