pães vs par, What's the Difference?

Which to use

“pães” is a noun and “par” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#14,933
“pães” frequency rank: #2,060
“par” frequency rank: 16993
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	pães	par
Definition	plural de pão	diz-se dos números divisíveis por 2

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set pães and par apart are highlighted. They share 1 letter in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch

pães

3 ch

par

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: pães is /ˈpɐ̃j̃ʃ/ while par is /paχ/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 16993, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

pães is recorded at frequency rank #14,933, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈpɐ̃j̃ʃ/. par is at rank #2,060, tagged as anadj, pronounced /paχ/.

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 16993, this pair ranks #54,372 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of pães vs par

Shared letters: p. Private to "pães": esã. Private to "par": ar.

"pães" · 4 letters · shape CVVC · "par" · 3 letters · shape CVC

Frequency comparison

pães#14,933

par#2,060

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "pães" and "par" be used interchangeably?

No - they are not even the same part of speech. "pães" is a noun and "par" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.

Which is more common, "pães" or "par"?

"par" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,060 in our Portuguese list, against #14,933 for "pães". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering pães vs par

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “pães”; for an adjective, it's “par”.
See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “pães” entry
Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable