pas

\pa\

/\pa\/ noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

The verdict

“pas” is in the everyday core of French, ranked #15 in French word frequency and used as a noun.

#15
frequency rank, French
3
letters
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Mouvement que fait une personne ou un animal en mettant un pied devant l’autre pour marcher.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

pas vs pu
33% similar
pas vs PS
0% similar
pas vs PQ
0% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for pas
PropertyValue
Headwordpas
LanguageFrench
Part of speechNoun
IPA\pa\
Letters3
Frequency rank#15
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “pas” sits in French frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). pas lands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The French entry for pas is 3 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as \pa\. Corpus data places it at rank #15 in overall French word frequency, putting it firmly in the everyday core of the language. Wiktionary records 16 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

pas doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "pu", "PS", "PQ", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

No documented word history exists for this headword, so its spelling is best explained by sound-to-letter mapping rather than etymology. The correct French form is pas, spelled P-A-S.

Definition

  1. 1
    Mouvement que fait une personne ou un animal en mettant un pied devant l’autre pour marcher.
  2. 2
    Distance entre deux pas ; enjambée.
  3. 3
    Faible distance.
  4. 4
    Différentes manières de marcher réglées pour les troupes.
  5. 5
    Différentes manières d’exécuter le mouvement de la danse.
  6. 6
    Allure la moins rapide du cheval.
  7. 7
    Empreinte, marque que laisse le pied d’une personne ou d’un animal.
  8. 8
    Préséance, droit de marcher le premier.
  9. 9
    Passage étroit ou passe difficile dans une vallée, dans une montagne, etc.
  10. 10
    Seuil, marches qui sont au-devant d’une entrée.
  11. 11
    Allées et venues, démarches que l’on fait, peines qu’on prend pour réussir.
  12. 12
    Distance séparant deux filets d’un filetage.
  13. 13
    Écart entre les axes d’éléments graphiques homologues d’un ensemble graphique de structure régulière ; il est souvent exprimé numériquement par l’inverse de son rapport à l’unité de longueur.
  14. 14
    Distance séparant deux lignes d’interconnexion voisines dans un circuit intégré ou sur un circuit imprimé nu.
  15. 15
    Distance entre deux broches de raccordement contiguës sur un boîtier.
  16. 16
    Entaille faite dans une sablière pour y encastrer partiellement un chevron.

Synonyms

enjambéerythmegraduation

This word in other languages

step(English)paso(Español)Schritt(Deutsch)

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 French corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "pas"?
"pas" is spelled P-A-S. The IPA pronunciation is \pa\.
What does "pas" mean?
As a noun, "pas" means: Mouvement que fait une personne ou un animal en mettant un pied devant l’autre pour marcher.
What words are commonly confused with "pas"?
"pas" is commonly confused with "pu", "PS", "PQ". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "pas"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "pas" is \pa\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "pas" come from?
"pas" is a French word. PlainSpell's reference spans five languages -- English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German -- with definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for each.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Using “pas”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct French spelling is P-A-S - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as \pa\ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “pu” - see the side-by-side comparison. pas vs pu
  • Browse more French words and confusable pairs in the same reference. French words
Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list