Which to use
“patente” is an adjective and “pateta” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #7,811
- “patente” frequency rank
- #26,497
- “pateta” frequency rank
- 34308
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | patente | pateta |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | manifesto | pessoa boba |
Where the eye mixes patente and pateta
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. patente runs 7 letters (CVCVCCV) against pateta's 6 (CVCVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: patente vs pateta
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: patente is /pɐ.ˈtẽ.tɨ/ while pateta is /pa.ˈtɛ.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 (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 34308, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
patente is recorded at frequency rank #7,811, classified as anadj, pronounced /pɐ.ˈtẽ.tɨ/. 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 34308, this pair ranks #32,995 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of patente vs pateta
Shared letters: aept. Private to "patente": n. Private to "pateta": -.
"patente" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCCV · "pateta" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "patente" and "pateta" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary Portuguese text, does "patente" or "pateta" show up more?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "patente" and "pateta" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "patente" 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 #32,995 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "patente" and "pateta" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "paletó vs pateta". 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 #32,995 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.