pasastevspasateWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“pasaste” and “pasate” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#12,891
“pasaste” frequency rank
#38,865
“pasate” frequency rank
51756
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature pasaste pasate
Definition Segunda persona del singular (tú, vos) del pretérito perfecto simple de indicativo de pasar. Segunda persona del singular (vos) del imperativo afirmativo de pasarse (con el pronombre «te» enclítico).

Where the eye mixes pasaste and pasate

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. pasaste runs 7 letters (CVCVCCV) against pasate's 6 (CVCVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

7 ch
pasaste
6 ch
pasate

Why the eye confuses pasaste with pasate

A purely visual mix-up. pasaste ([paˈsast̪e]) and pasate ([paˈsat̪e]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 51756, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

pasaste is recorded at frequency rank #12,891, classified as averb, pronounced [paˈsast̪e]. pasate is at rank #38,865, tagged as averb, pronounced [paˈsat̪e].

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 51756, this pair ranks #96,217 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of pasaste vs pasate

Shared letters: aepst. Private to "pasaste": -. Private to "pasate": -.

"pasaste" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCCV  ·  "pasate" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • pasaste ← apsaste · paasste · pasaset · pasasste · pasastte · pasatse · passaste · passate
  • pasate ← apsate · paaste · pasaet · pasatte · pastae · ppasate · psaate

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "pasaste" for "pasate" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([paˈsast̪e] versus [paˈsat̪e]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "pasaste" or "pasate"?
"pasaste" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #12,891 in our Spanish list, against #38,865 for "pasate". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "pasaste" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "pasate" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #96,217 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "pasaste" and "pasate" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "pasate vs past". 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 #96,217 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list