Which to use
“pai” and “pan” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #240
- “pai” frequency rank
- #4,573
- “pan” frequency rank
- 4813
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | pai | pan |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | homem que tem filhos, naturais ou adotivos | a designação, dirigindo-se a uma pessoa pelo seu nome, apelido, título ou profissão; Sr. |
Letter map: pai vs pan
Shared letters muted; letters that set pai and pan apart highlighted. Shared run: 2.
Pair insight - pai / pan
pai and pan are indexed as a confusable Portuguese pair. We have no recorded pronunciation or part of speech for both members, so the spelling overlap is what we can show you: they differ by a single letter - i in “pai” becomes n in “pan”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 4813, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
pai is recorded at frequency rank #240, classified as anoun. pan is at rank #4,573, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈpan.
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 4813, this pair ranks #69,964 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of pai vs pan
Shared letters: ap. Private to "pai": i. Private to "pan": n.
"pai" · 3 letters · shape CVV · "pan" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "pai" and "pan" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "pai" vs "pan" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Pair "pai" vs "pan" is on the table, pick a follow-up below.
- Full dictionary entry for "pai" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "pan" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #69,964 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "pai" and "pan" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "pan vs pix". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #69,964 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.