This paper aims to develop distance and similarity measures for ( p ,  q )-fuzzy sets from t-norms and t-conorms. It showcases a way to generate these measures from a given t-norm or a t-conorm operator. These newly developed distance and similarity measures have applications in various domains, including problems in pattern recognition. The article provides a comparison between the proposed measures and the existing measures for Fermatean fuzzy sets. Additionally, it illustrates a numerical example to showcase the practical application of the proposed distance measures in diagnosing common lung diseases. Article Highlights It suggests various similarity and distance measures for ( p ,  q )-fuzzy sets using t-norms and t-conorms, respectively. It employs the suggested similarity and distance measures in a pattern recognition problem related to medical diagnosis. It compares the proposed measures with those defined in the literature for Fermatean fuzzy sets.