Which to use
“pasado” is a noun and “pesado” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #226
- “pasado” frequency rank
- #4,736
- “pesado” frequency rank
- 4962
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | pasado | pesado |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Temporada antes del presente. | Que pesa mucho. |
Where the eye mixes pasado and pesado
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: pasado is [paˈsað̞o] while pesado is [peˈsað̞o]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - a in “pasado” becomes e in “pesado”, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 4962, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
pasado is recorded at frequency rank #226, classified as anoun, pronounced [paˈsað̞o]. pesado is at rank #4,736, tagged as anadj, pronounced [peˈsað̞o].
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 4962, this pair ranks #314,818 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of pasado vs pesado
Shared letters: adops. Private to "pasado": -. Private to "pesado": e.
"pasado" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV · "pesado" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV