pasasevspayasoWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#33,263
“pasase” frequency rank
#8,159
“payaso” frequency rank
41422
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature pasase payaso
Definition Primera persona del singular (yo) del pretérito imperfecto de subjuntivo de pasar. Actor que suele usar vestimenta y maquillaje estrafalarios con el fin de hacer reír mayormente a los niños.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set pasase and payaso apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
pasase
6 ch
payaso

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: pasase is [paˈsase] while payaso is [paˈʝaso]. 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 41422, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

pasase is recorded at frequency rank #33,263, classified as averb, pronounced [paˈsase]. payaso is at rank #8,159, tagged as anoun, pronounced [paˈʝaso].

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 41422, this pair ranks #153,719 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of pasase vs payaso

Shared letters: aps. Private to "pasase": e. Private to "payaso": oy.

"pasase" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV  ·  "payaso" · 6 letters · shape CVVVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • pasaseapsase · paasse · pasace · pasaes · pasasse · passae · passase · ppasase
  • payasoapyaso · paayso · payaos · payasso · paysao · payyaso · ppayaso · pyaaso

Frequency comparison

pasase#33,263
payaso#8,159

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "pasase" and "payaso" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "pasase" is a verb and "payaso" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "pasase" or "payaso"?
"payaso" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #8,159 in our Spanish list, against #33,263 for "pasase". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering pasase vs payaso

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “pasase”; for a noun, it's “payaso”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “pasase” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list