Which to use
“pat” and “patch” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #10,372
- “pat” frequency rank
- #18,274
- “patch” frequency rank
- 28646
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | pat | patch |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Situation où un des deux joueurs, qui n’a pas son roi en échec et qui a le trait, ne peut pas jouer sans mettre le roi en prise, et qui constitue un des cas de nullité de la partie. | Section de code que l’on ajoute à un logiciel, pour y apporter des modifications mineures. |
Where the eye mixes pat and patch
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between pat and patch
A purely visual mix-up. pat (\pat\) 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 2 extra letter(s) - “pat” sits inside “patch”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 28646, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
pat is recorded at frequency rank #10,372, classified as anoun, pronounced \pat\. 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 28646, this pair ranks #321,540 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of pat vs patch
Shared letters: apt. Private to "pat": -. Private to "patch": ch.
"pat" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "patch" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC
Known mistypes of this pair
- patch ← aptch · pacth · patcch · patchh · pathc · pattch · ppatch · ptach
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "pat" for "patch" ever safe?
Frequency check: "pat" vs "patch" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "pat" 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 #321,540 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "pat" and "patch" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "patch vs Patel". 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 #321,540 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.