Which to use
“pasada” is a noun and “pasiva” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #1,992
- “pasada” frequency rank
- #12,440
- “pasiva” frequency rank
- 14432
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | pasada | pasiva |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Acción o efecto de pasar o de pasarse. | Forma del femenino singular de pasivo. |
Where the eye mixes pasada and pasiva
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: pasada vs pasiva
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: pasada is [paˈsað̞a] while pasiva is [paˈsiβ̞a]. 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 (noun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 14432, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
pasada is recorded at frequency rank #1,992, classified as anoun, pronounced [paˈsað̞a]. pasiva is at rank #12,440, tagged as anadj, pronounced [paˈsiβ̞a].
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 14432, this pair ranks #284,126 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of pasada vs pasiva
Shared letters: aps. Private to "pasada": d. Private to "pasiva": iv.
"pasada" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV · "pasiva" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "pasada" and "pasiva" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary Spanish text, does "pasada" or "pasiva" show up more?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "pasada" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "pasiva" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #284,126 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "pasada" and "pasiva" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "pajita vs pasiva". 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 #284,126 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.