patéticasvspatéticoWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#46,714
“patéticas” frequency rank
#9,170
“patético” frequency rank
55884
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature patéticas patético
Definition Forma del femenino plural de patético. Que provoca piedad, pena, u otro padecimiento moral por simpatía.

Where the eye mixes patéticas and patético

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. patéticas runs 9 letters (CVCVCVCVC) against patético's 8 (CVCVCVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

9 ch
patéticas
8 ch
patético

Why the eye confuses patéticas with patético

A purely visual mix-up. patéticas ([paˈt̪et̪ikas]) and patético ([paˈt̪et̪iko]) 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 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 55884, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

patéticas is recorded at frequency rank #46,714, classified as anadj, pronounced [paˈt̪et̪ikas]. patético is at rank #9,170, tagged as anadj, pronounced [paˈt̪et̪iko].

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 55884, this pair ranks #76,926 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of patéticas vs patético

Shared letters: acipté. Private to "patéticas": s. Private to "patético": o.

"patéticas" · 9 letters · shape CVCVCVCVC  ·  "patético" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCVCV

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "patéticas" and "patético" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([paˈt̪et̪ikas] versus [paˈt̪et̪iko]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "patéticas" vs "patético" - which ranks higher?
"patético" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #9,170 in our Spanish list, against #46,714 for "patéticas". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "patéticas" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "patético" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #76,926 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "patéticas" and "patético" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "patéticas vs poéticas". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #76,926 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