Which to use
“patata” and “patito” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #16,664
- “patata” frequency rank
- #27,713
- “patito” frequency rank
- 44377
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | patata | patito |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | (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. | Diminutivo de pato. |
Where the eye mixes patata and patito
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses patata with patito
A purely visual mix-up. patata ([paˈt̪at̪a]) and patito ([paˈt̪it̪o]) 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 44377, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
patata is recorded at frequency rank #16,664, classified as anoun, pronounced [paˈt̪at̪a]. patito is at rank #27,713, tagged as anoun, pronounced [paˈt̪it̪o].
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 44377, this pair ranks #137,419 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of patata vs patito
Shared letters: apt. Private to "patata": -. Private to "patito": io.
"patata" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV · "patito" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "patata" and "patito" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary Spanish text, does "patata" or "patito" show up more?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "patata" and "patito" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "patata" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "patito" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #137,419 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "patata" and "patito" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "patito vs petite". 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 #137,419 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.