Which to use
“pat” and “pb” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #10,372
- “pat” frequency rank
- #15,711
- “pb” frequency rank
- 26083
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | pat | pb |
|---|---|---|
| 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. | Problème. |
Where the eye mixes pat and pb
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.
Why the eye confuses pat with pb
A purely visual mix-up. pat (\pat\) and pb (\pʁɔ.blɛm\) 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 26083, 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\. pb is at rank #15,711, tagged as anoun, pronounced \pʁɔ.blɛm\.
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 26083, this pair ranks #337,213 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of pat vs pb
Shared letters: p. Private to "pat": at. Private to "pb": b.
"pat" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "pb" · 2 letters · shape CC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "pat" for "pb" ever safe?
Which is more common, "pat" or "pb"?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "pat" and "pb" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "pat" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "pb" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #337,213 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "pat" and "pb" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "pb vs pio". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #337,213 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.