Which to use
“pasados” is a participle and “payasos” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #6,096
- “pasados” frequency rank
- #13,973
- “payasos” frequency rank
- 20069
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | pasados | payasos |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Forma del plural de pasado, participio de pasar. | Forma del plural de payaso. |
Where the eye mixes pasados and payasos
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. pasados (CVCVCVC) and payasos (CVVVCVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Look-alike desk: pasados vs payasos
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: pasados is [paˈsað̞os] while payasos is [paˈʝasos]. 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 (participle vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 20069, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
pasados is recorded at frequency rank #6,096, classified as aparticiple, pronounced [paˈsað̞os]. payasos is at rank #13,973, tagged as anoun, pronounced [paˈʝasos].
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 20069, this pair ranks #260,940 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of pasados vs payasos
Shared letters: aops. Private to "pasados": d. Private to "payasos": y.
"pasados" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC · "payasos" · 7 letters · shape CVVVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "pasados" and "payasos" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary Spanish text, does "pasados" or "payasos" show up more?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "pasados" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "payasos" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #260,940 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "pasados" and "payasos" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "pasados vs picados". 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 #260,940 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.