Which to use
“pastas” and “patatas” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #19,200
- “pastas” frequency rank
- #9,340
- “patatas” frequency rank
- 28540
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | pastas | patatas |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Forma del plural de pasta. | Forma del plural de patata. |
Where the eye mixes pastas and patatas
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses pastas with patatas
A purely visual mix-up. pastas ([ˈpast̪as]) and patatas ([paˈt̪at̪as]) 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 28540, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
pastas is recorded at frequency rank #19,200, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈpast̪as]. patatas is at rank #9,340, tagged as anoun, pronounced [paˈt̪at̪as].
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 28540, this pair ranks #221,517 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of pastas vs patatas
Shared letters: apst. Private to "pastas": -. Private to "patatas": -.
"pastas" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "patatas" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "pastas" for "patatas" ever safe?
Frequency check: "pastas" vs "patatas" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "pastas" and "patatas" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "pastas" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "patatas" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #221,517 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "pastas" and "patatas" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "pastas vs postas". 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 #221,517 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.