Which to use
“pata” and “pavão” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #15,417
- “pata” frequency rank
- #19,519
- “pavão” frequency rank
- 34936
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | pata | pavão |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | a fêmea do pato | pendão, flor masculina do milho |
Where the eye mixes pata and pavão
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: pata vs pavão
A purely visual mix-up. pata (/ˈpa.tɐ/) and pavão (/pa.'boŋ/) 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 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 34936, 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/. pavão is at rank #19,519, tagged as anoun, pronounced /pa.'boŋ/.
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 34936, this pair ranks #32,213 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of pata vs pavão
Shared letters: ap. Private to "pata": t. Private to "pavão": ovã.
"pata" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "pavão" · 5 letters · shape CVCVV
Known mistypes of this pair
- pata ← apta · paat · patta · ppata · ptaa
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "pata" and "pavão" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "pata" or "pavão"?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "pata" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "pavão" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #32,213 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "pata" and "pavão" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "pavão vs pilão". 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 #32,213 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.