Which to use
“past” is an adjective and “pau” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #38,289
- “past” frequency rank
- #13,972
- “pau” frequency rank
- 52261
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | past | pau |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Pasado, que ocurrió en el pasado. | Paz. |
Where the eye mixes past and pau
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between past and pau
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: past is /pɑːst/ while pau is [ˈpaw]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 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 52261, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
past is recorded at frequency rank #38,289, classified as anadj, pronounced /pɑːst/. pau is at rank #13,972, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈpaw].
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 52261, this pair ranks #93,597 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of past vs pau
Shared letters: ap. Private to "past": st. Private to "pau": u.
"past" · 4 letters · shape CVCC · "pau" · 3 letters · shape CVV
Known mistypes of this pair
- past ← apst · passt · pastt · pats · ppast · psat
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "past" and "pau" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "past" vs "pau" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "past" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "pau" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #93,597 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "past" and "pau" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "pa'l 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 #93,597 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.