Which to use
“pasivo” is an adjective and “paso” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #10,897
- “pasivo” frequency rank
- #343
- “paso” frequency rank
- 11240
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | pasivo | paso |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Que recibe los efectos de una acción sin participar en ella. | Cada uno de los movimientos de avance de las piernas al caminar. |
Where the eye mixes pasivo and paso
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses pasivo with paso
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: pasivo is [paˈsiβ̞o] while paso is [ˈpaso]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 11240, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
pasivo is recorded at frequency rank #10,897, classified as anadj, pronounced [paˈsiβ̞o]. paso is at rank #343, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈpaso].
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 11240, this pair ranks #295,808 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of pasivo vs paso
Shared letters: aops. Private to "pasivo": iv. Private to "paso": -.
"pasivo" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV · "paso" · 4 letters · shape CVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "pasivo" and "paso" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary Spanish text, does "pasivo" or "paso" show up more?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "pasivo" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "paso" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #295,808 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "pasivo" and "paso" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "parido vs pasivo". 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 #295,808 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.