pasadovspasarWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: pasado is a noun, pasar is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“pasado” is a noun and “pasar” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#226
“pasado” frequency rank
#381
“pasar” frequency rank
607
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature pasado pasar
Definition Temporada antes del presente. Llevar de un lugar a otro.

Where the eye mixes pasado and pasar

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.

6 ch
pasado
5 ch
pasar

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: pasado is [paˈsað̞o] while pasar is [paˈsaɾ]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 607, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

pasado is recorded at frequency rank #226, classified as anoun, pronounced [paˈsað̞o]. pasar is at rank #381, tagged as averb, pronounced [paˈsaɾ].

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 607, this pair ranks #323,204 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of pasado vs pasar

Shared letters: aps. Private to "pasado": do. Private to "pasar": r.

"pasado" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV  ·  "pasar" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • pasadoapsado · paasdo · pasaddo · pasaod · pasdao · passado · ppasado · psaado
  • pasarapsar · paasr · pasarr · pasra · passar · ppasar · psaar

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "pasado" and "pasar" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "pasado" is a noun and "pasar" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "pasado" or "pasar"?
"pasado" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #226 in our Spanish list, against #381 for "pasar". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list