payasovspaysWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#8,159
“payaso” frequency rank
#42,064
“pays” frequency rank
50223
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature payaso pays
Definition Actor que suele usar vestimenta y maquillaje estrafalarios con el fin de hacer reír mayormente a los niños. País.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set payaso and pays apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
payaso
4 ch
pays

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. payaso ([paˈʝaso]) 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 differ by 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 50223, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

payaso is recorded at frequency rank #8,159, classified as anoun, pronounced [paˈʝaso]. 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 50223, this pair ranks #104,415 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of payaso vs pays

Shared letters: apsy. Private to "payaso": o. Private to "pays": -.

"payaso" · 6 letters · shape CVVVCV  ·  "pays" · 4 letters · shape CVVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • payasoapyaso · paayso · payaos · payasso · paysao · payyaso · ppayaso · pyaaso
  • paysapys · pasy · payss · payys · ppays · pyas

Frequency comparison

payaso#8,159
pays#42,064

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "payaso" and "pays" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([paˈʝaso] versus /pɛi/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "payaso" or "pays"?
"payaso" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #8,159 in our Spanish list, against #42,064 for "pays". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering payaso vs pays

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “payaso” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list