peajevspésameWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#15,194
“peaje” frequency rank
#20,484
“pésame” frequency rank
35678
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature peaje pésame
Definition Derecho de tránsito. Expresión con que se manifiesta el sentimiento de pena o aflicción por el fallecimiento de una persona. El pésame se da a los familiares más cercanos del fallecido, muy en particular al cónyuge, hermanos, padres e hijos.

Where the eye mixes peaje and pésame

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. peaje runs 5 letters (CVVCV) against pésame's 6 (CVCVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

5 ch
peaje
6 ch
pésame

Look-alike desk: peaje vs pésame

A purely visual mix-up. peaje ([peˈaxe]) and pésame ([ˈpesame]) 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 35678, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

peaje is recorded at frequency rank #15,194, classified as anoun, pronounced [peˈaxe]. pésame is at rank #20,484, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈpesame].

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 35678, this pair ranks #184,776 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of peaje vs pésame

Shared letters: aep. Private to "peaje": j. Private to "pésame": msé.

"peaje" · 5 letters · shape CVVCV  ·  "pésame" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • peaje ← epaje · paeje · peaej · peajje · pejae · ppeaje

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "peaje" and "pésame" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([peˈaxe] versus [ˈpesame]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "peaje" vs "pésame" - which ranks higher?
"peaje" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #15,194 in our Spanish list, against #20,484 for "pésame". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "peaje" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "pésame" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #184,776 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "peaje" and "pésame" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "pesadez vs pésame". 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 #184,776 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