Which to use
“paty” and “pays” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #34,257
- “paty” frequency rank
- #42,064
- “pays” frequency rank
- 76321
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | paty | pays |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Hamburguesa. | País. |
Where the eye mixes paty and pays
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. paty (CVCV) and pays (CVVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Visual trap between paty and pays
A purely visual mix-up. paty ([ˈpat̪i]) and pays (/pɛi/) 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 76321, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
paty is recorded at frequency rank #34,257, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈpat̪i]. pays is at rank #42,064, tagged as anoun, pronounced /pɛi/.
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 76321, this pair ranks #17,959 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of paty vs pays
Shared letters: apy. Private to "paty": t. Private to "pays": s.
"paty" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "pays" · 4 letters · shape CVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "paty" for "pays" ever safe?
Frequency check: "paty" vs "pays" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "paty" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "pays" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #17,959 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "paty" and "pays" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "pa'l vs pays". 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 #17,959 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.