Which to use
“patán” is an adjective and “patata” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #39,908
- “patán” frequency rank
- #16,664
- “patata” frequency rank
- 56572
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | patán | patata |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Falto de inteligencia y cultura. | (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 patán and patata
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. patán runs 5 letters (CVCVC) against patata's 6 (CVCVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between patán and patata
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: patán is [paˈt̪ãn] while patata is [paˈt̪at̪a]. 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 56572, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
patán is recorded at frequency rank #39,908, classified as anadj, pronounced [paˈt̪ãn]. 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 56572, this pair ranks #74,061 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of patán vs patata
Shared letters: apt. Private to "patán": ná. Private to "patata": -.
"patán" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC · "patata" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- patata ← aptata · paatta · pataat · patatta · pattaa · pattata · ppatata · ptaata
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "patán" for "patata" ever safe?
Frequency check: "patán" vs "patata" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "patán" 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 #74,061 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "patán" and "patata" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "patán vs petar". 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 #74,061 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.