Which to use
“pata” and “pateta” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #15,417
- “pata” frequency rank
- #26,497
- “pateta” frequency rank
- 41914
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | pata | pateta |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | a fêmea do pato | pessoa boba |
Where the eye mixes pata and pateta
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. pata runs 4 letters (CVCV) against pateta's 6 (CVCVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: pata vs pateta
A purely visual mix-up. pata (/ˈpa.tɐ/) and pateta (/pa.ˈtɛ.tɐ/) 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 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 41914, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
pata is recorded at frequency rank #15,417, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈpa.tɐ/. pateta is at rank #26,497, tagged as anoun, pronounced /pa.ˈtɛ.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 41914, this pair ranks #23,933 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of pata vs pateta
Shared letters: apt. Private to "pata": -. Private to "pateta": e.
"pata" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "pateta" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "pata" for "pateta" ever safe?
Frequency check: "pata" vs "pateta" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "pata" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "pateta" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #23,933 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "pata" and "pateta" 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 #23,933 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.