patasvspelasTell them apart

Which to use

“patas” and “pelas” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#4,734
“patas” frequency rank
#47,315
“pelas” frequency rank
52049
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature patas pelas
Definition Forma del plural de pata. Forma del plural de pela.

Where the eye mixes patas and pelas

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. patas and pelas follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

5 ch
patas
5 ch
pelas

Look-alike desk: patas vs pelas

A purely visual mix-up. patas ([ˈpat̪as]) and pelas ([ˈpelas]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 52049, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

patas is recorded at frequency rank #4,734, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈpat̪as]. pelas is at rank #47,315, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈpelas].

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 52049, this pair ranks #94,670 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of patas vs pelas

Shared letters: aps. Private to "patas": t. Private to "pelas": el.

"patas" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC  ·  "pelas" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • patas ← paats · patass · pattas · ppatas · ptaas
  • pelas ← eplas · peals · pelass · pellas · pelsa · pleas · ppelas

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "patas" and "pelas" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈpat̪as] versus [ˈpelas]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "patas" vs "pelas" - which ranks higher?
"patas" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,734 in our Spanish list, against #47,315 for "pelas". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "patas" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "pelas" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #94,670 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "patas" and "pelas" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "pelas 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 #94,670 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list