Which to use
“pato” is an adjective and “patrol” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #6,330
- “pato” frequency rank
- #41,655
- “patrol” frequency rank
- 47985
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | pato | patrol |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | empatado | patrulha |
Where the eye mixes pato and patrol
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. pato runs 4 letters (CVCV) against patrol's 6 (CVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: pato vs patrol
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: pato is /ˈpa.tʊ/ while patrol is /pəˈtɹəʊl/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 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 47985, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
pato is recorded at frequency rank #6,330, classified as anadj, pronounced /ˈpa.tʊ/. patrol is at rank #41,655, tagged as anoun, pronounced /pəˈtɹəʊl/.
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 47985, this pair ranks #17,240 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of pato vs patrol
Shared letters: aopt. Private to "pato": -. Private to "patrol": lr.
"pato" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "patrol" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "pato" and "patrol" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary Portuguese text, does "pato" or "patrol" show up more?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "pato" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "patrol" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #17,240 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "pato" and "patrol" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "patrol vs patronal". 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 #17,240 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.