Which to use
“pata” and “patata” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #5,869
- “pata” frequency rank
- #16,664
- “patata” frequency rank
- 22533
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | pata | patata |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Extremidad de los animales utilizada para la locomoción en tierra, que va en número de un único par en las aves y los primates hasta unos 200 pares en los miriápodos de la clase Diplopoda. Funcionalmente similar, es sin embargo evolutivamente muy diferente entre invertebrados y vertebrados. En estos últimos está por lo general dividida claramente en dos secciones, articuladas en la rodilla. | (Solanum tuberosum) Planta herbácea, caducifolia, de la familia de las solanáceas, de tallo erecto o decumbente de hasta 1 m de largo, hojas imparipinnadas, de foliolos lanceolados, pilosas, y flores en inflorescencias terminales racemosas, de pétalos fusionados de color blanco a púrpura, que fructifican en pequeñas bayas. Se la aprecia por los tubérculos que produce su sistema radical, muy usados en gastronomía. |
Where the eye mixes pata and patata
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses pata with patata
A purely visual mix-up. pata ([ˈpat̪a]) and patata ([paˈt̪at̪a]) 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 2 extra letter(s) - “pata” sits inside “patata”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 22533, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
pata is recorded at frequency rank #5,869, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈpat̪a]. patata is at rank #16,664, tagged as anoun, pronounced [paˈt̪at̪a].
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 22533, this pair ranks #249,889 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of pata vs patata
Shared letters: apt. Private to "pata": -. Private to "patata": -.
"pata" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "patata" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "pata" for "patata" ever safe?
In ordinary Spanish text, does "pata" or "patata" show up more?
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 "pata" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "patata" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #249,889 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "pata" and "patata" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "pacta vs patata". 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 #249,889 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.