Which to use
“patch” and “path” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #18,274
- “patch” frequency rank
- #32,109
- “path” frequency rank
- 50383
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | patch | path |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Section de code que l’on ajoute à un logiciel, pour y apporter des modifications mineures. | Sentier, chemin, voie. |
Where the eye mixes patch and path
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between patch and path
A purely visual mix-up. patch (\patʃ\) and path (\pɑːθ\) 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 50383, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
patch is recorded at frequency rank #18,274, classified as anoun, pronounced \patʃ\. path is at rank #32,109, tagged as anoun, pronounced \pɑːθ\.
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 50383, this pair ranks #163,069 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of patch vs path
Shared letters: ahpt. Private to "patch": c. Private to "path": -.
"patch" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC · "path" · 4 letters · shape CVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "patch" for "path" ever safe?
Which is more common, "patch" or "path"?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "patch" and "path" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "patch" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "path" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #163,069 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "patch" and "path" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "path vs PTZ". 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 #163,069 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.