Which to use
“pay” is a verb and “paz” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #23,167
- “pay” frequency rank
- #435
- “paz” frequency rank
- 23602
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | pay | paz |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Pagar. | Condición espiritual o anímica de tranquilidad o quietud. |
Where the eye mixes pay and paz
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: pay vs paz
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: pay is /peɪ/ while paz is [ˈpas]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - y in “pay” becomes z in “paz”, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 23602, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
pay is recorded at frequency rank #23,167, classified as averb, pronounced /peɪ/. paz is at rank #435, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈpas].
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 23602, this pair ranks #245,004 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of pay vs paz
Shared letters: ap. Private to "pay": y. Private to "paz": z.
"pay" · 3 letters · shape CVV · "paz" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "pay" and "paz" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "pay" or "paz"?
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 "pay" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "paz" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #245,004 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "pay" and "paz" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "pay vs prey". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #245,004 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.