paivspesConfusable pair

Which to use

“pai” and “pes” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#240
“pai” frequency rank
#23,445
“pes” frequency rank
23685
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature pai pes
Definition homem que tem filhos, naturais ou adotivos cão

Letter map: pai vs pes

Shared letters muted; letters that set pai and pes apart highlighted. Shared run: 1.

3 ch
pai
3 ch
pes

Pair insight - pai / pes

pai and pes 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 share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 23685, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

pai is recorded at frequency rank #240, classified as anoun. pes is at rank #23,445, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈpɛs ouvir^(fonte ?).

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 23685, this pair ranks #46,098 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of pai vs pes

Shared letters: p. Private to "pai": ai. Private to "pes": es.

"pai" · 3 letters · shape CVV  ·  "pes" · 3 letters · shape CVC

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "pai" and "pes" be used interchangeably?
No. They share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, but the dictionary glosses above give them different meanings, so swapping one for the other changes what the sentence says.
Which is more common, "pai" or "pes"?
"pai" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #240 in our Portuguese list, against #23,445 for "pes". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Useful next steps

Pair "pai" vs "pes" 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 "pes" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #46,098 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "pai" and "pes" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "pes vs pix". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #46,098 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list