Which to use
“PACS” and “patch” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #29,899
- “PACS” frequency rank
- #18,274
- “patch” frequency rank
- 48173
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | PACS | patch |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Pacte civil de solidarité. | Section de code que l’on ajoute à un logiciel, pour y apporter des modifications mineures. |
Where the eye mixes PACS and patch
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses PACS with patch
A purely visual mix-up. PACS (\paks\) and patch (\patʃ\) 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 48173, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
PACS is recorded at frequency rank #29,899, classified as anoun, pronounced \paks\. patch is at rank #18,274, tagged as anoun, pronounced \patʃ\.
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 48173, this pair ranks #181,052 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of PACS vs patch
Shared letters: acp. Private to "PACS": s. Private to "patch": ht.
"PACS" · 4 letters · shape CVCC · "patch" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "PACS" for "patch" ever safe?
Frequency check: "PACS" vs "patch" - which ranks higher?
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 "PACS" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "patch" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #181,052 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "PACS" and "patch" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "PACS vs parl". 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 #181,052 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.