patrónvspeatónTell them apart

Which to use

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

#3,581
“patrón” frequency rank
#28,867
“peatón” frequency rank
32448
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature patrón peatón
Definition Persona que defiende o protege una causa. (en México) Persona que se desplaza a pie por espacios públicos.

Where the eye mixes patrón and peatón

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. patrón (CVCCVC) and peatón (CVVCVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.

6 ch
patrón
6 ch
peatón

Why the eye confuses patrón with peatón

A purely visual mix-up. patrón ([paˈt̪ɾõn]) and peatón ([peaˈt̪õn]) 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 3 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 32448, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

patrón is recorded at frequency rank #3,581, classified as anoun, pronounced [paˈt̪ɾõn]. peatón is at rank #28,867, tagged as anoun, pronounced [peaˈt̪õn].

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 32448, this pair ranks #201,899 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of patrón vs peatón

Shared letters: anptó. Private to "patrón": r. Private to "peatón": e.

"patrón" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC  ·  "peatón" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "patrón" for "peatón" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([paˈt̪ɾõn] versus [peaˈt̪õn]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "patrón" or "peatón"?
"patrón" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,581 in our Spanish list, against #28,867 for "peatón". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "patrón" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "peatón" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #201,899 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "patrón" and "peatón" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "peatón vs pitón". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #201,899 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