Which to use
“past” is an adjective and “Paul” is a name - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #38,289
- “past” frequency rank
- #2,260
- “Paul” frequency rank
- 40549
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | past | Paul |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Pasado, que ocurrió en el pasado. | Nombre de pila de varón, equivalente del español Pablo. |
Where the eye mixes past and Paul
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses past with Paul
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: past is /pɑːst/ while Paul is /paʊ̯l/. 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 (adjective vs name), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 40549, 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/. Paul is at rank #2,260, tagged as aname, pronounced /paʊ̯l/.
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 40549, this pair ranks #158,473 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of past vs Paul
Shared letters: ap. Private to "past": st. Private to "Paul": lu.
"past" · 4 letters · shape CVCC · "Paul" · 4 letters · shape CVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "past" for "Paul" ever safe?
Which is more common, "past" or "Paul"?
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 "Paul" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #158,473 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "past" and "Paul" 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 #158,473 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.