Which to use
“patética” and “patéticas” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #18,032
- “patética” frequency rank
- #46,714
- “patéticas” frequency rank
- 64746
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | patética | patéticas |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Forma del femenino de patético. | Forma del femenino plural de patético. |
Where the eye mixes patética and patéticas
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. patética runs 8 letters (CVCVCVCV) against patéticas's 9 (CVCVCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: patética vs patéticas
A purely visual mix-up. patética ([paˈt̪et̪ika]) and patéticas ([paˈt̪et̪ikas]) 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 extra letter(s) - “patética” sits inside “patéticas”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 64746, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
patética is recorded at frequency rank #18,032, classified as anadj, pronounced [paˈt̪et̪ika]. patéticas is at rank #46,714, tagged as anadj, pronounced [paˈt̪et̪ikas].
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 64746, this pair ranks #44,702 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of patética vs patéticas
Shared letters: acipté. Private to "patética": -. Private to "patéticas": s.
"patética" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCVCV · "patéticas" · 9 letters · shape CVCVCVCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "patética" for "patéticas" ever safe?
In ordinary Spanish text, does "patética" or "patéticas" show up more?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "patética" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "patéticas" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #44,702 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "patética" and "patéticas" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "patéticas vs poéticas". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #44,702 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.