Which to use
“pata” and “prato” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #15,417
- “pata” frequency rank
- #3,431
- “prato” frequency rank
- 18848
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | pata | prato |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | a fêmea do pato | vasilha, normalmente de louça ou metal, em que se come ou se serve comida |
Where the eye mixes pata and prato
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: pata vs prato
A purely visual mix-up. pata (/ˈpa.tɐ/) and prato (/ˈpɾa.tu/) 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 18848, 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/. prato is at rank #3,431, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈpɾa.tu/.
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 18848, this pair ranks #52,036 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of pata vs prato
Shared letters: apt. Private to "pata": -. Private to "prato": or.
"pata" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "prato" · 5 letters · shape CCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "pata" for "prato" ever safe?
Which is more common, "pata" or "prato"?
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 "prato" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #52,036 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "pata" and "prato" 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 #52,036 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.