Which to use
“pastas” and “patos” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #19,200
- “pastas” frequency rank
- #16,666
- “patos” frequency rank
- 35866
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | pastas | patos |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Forma del plural de pasta. | Forma del plural de pato. |
Where the eye mixes pastas and patos
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. pastas runs 6 letters (CVCCVC) against patos's 5 (CVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses pastas with patos
A purely visual mix-up. pastas ([ˈpast̪as]) and patos ([ˈpat̪os]) 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 35866, 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]. patos is at rank #16,666, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈpat̪os].
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 35866, this pair ranks #183,757 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of pastas vs patos
Shared letters: apst. Private to "pastas": -. Private to "patos": o.
"pastas" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "patos" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "pastas" and "patos" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "pastas" vs "patos" - which ranks higher?
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 "pastas" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "patos" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #183,757 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "pastas" and "patos" 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 #183,757 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.