Which to use
“pato” and “pavor” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #7,894
- “pato” frequency rank
- #34,258
- “pavor” frequency rank
- 42152
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | pato | pavor |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Ave palmípeda del orden de las anseriformes, que se encuentra en estado silvestre y es domesticada para aprovechar sus huevos, plumas y carne. | Temor, con espanto o sobresalto. |
Where the eye mixes pato and pavor
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. pato runs 4 letters (CVCV) against pavor's 5 (CVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: pato vs pavor
A purely visual mix-up. pato ([ˈpat̪o]) and pavor ([paˈβ̞oɾ]) 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 42152, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
pato is recorded at frequency rank #7,894, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈpat̪o]. pavor is at rank #34,258, tagged as anoun, pronounced [paˈβ̞oɾ].
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 42152, this pair ranks #149,826 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of pato vs pavor
Shared letters: aop. Private to "pato": t. Private to "pavor": rv.
"pato" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "pavor" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "pato" and "pavor" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "pato" vs "pavor" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "pato" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "pavor" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #149,826 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "pato" and "pavor" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "pacos vs pavor". 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 #149,826 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.