Which to use
“passa” is an intj and “pata” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #469
- “passa” frequency rank
- #15,417
- “pata” frequency rank
- 15886
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | passa | pata |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | expressa enxotadura direcionada a cão | a fêmea do pato |
Where the eye mixes passa and pata
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between passa and pata
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: passa is /ˈpa.sɐ/ while pata is /ˈpa.tɐ/. 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 (intj vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 15886, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
passa is recorded at frequency rank #469, classified as anintj, pronounced /ˈpa.sɐ/. pata is at rank #15,417, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈpa.tɐ/.
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 15886, this pair ranks #55,839 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of passa vs pata
Shared letters: ap. Private to "passa": s. Private to "pata": t.
"passa" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV · "pata" · 4 letters · shape CVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "passa" for "pata" ever safe?
In ordinary Portuguese text, does "passa" or "pata" show up more?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "passa" and "pata" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "passa" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "pata" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #55,839 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "passa" and "pata" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "pastar vs pata". 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 #55,839 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.