pesvspyTell them apart

Which to use

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

#20,161
“pes” frequency rank
#38,327
“py” frequency rank
58488
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature pes py
Definition Pie. Pie, pata trasera de los cuadrúpedos.

Where the eye mixes pes and py

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.

3 ch
pes
2 ch
py

Visual trap between pes and py

A purely visual mix-up. pes (/ˈpeːs/) and py (/ˈpɨ/) 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 58488, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

pes is recorded at frequency rank #20,161, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈpeːs/. py is at rank #38,327, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈpɨ/.

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 58488, this pair ranks #66,273 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of pes vs py

Shared letters: p. Private to "pes": es. Private to "py": y.

"pes" · 3 letters · shape CVC  ·  "py" · 2 letters · shape CV

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "pes" and "py" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently (/ˈpeːs/ versus /ˈpɨ/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "pes" vs "py" - which ranks higher?
"pes" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #20,161 in our Spanish list, against #38,327 for "py". 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 "pes" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "py" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #66,273 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "pes" and "py" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "prey vs py". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #66,273 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