Which to use
“taken” is an adjective and “teen” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #42,860
- “taken” frequency rank
- #8,141
- “teen” frequency rank
- 51001
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | taken | teen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs tak | Zeh (ein Endabschnitt der Gliedmaßen der vierfüßigen Wirbeltiere, bei Primaten insbesondere Menschen nur der der hinteren Gliedmaßen) |
Where the eye mixes taken and teen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. taken runs 5 letters (CVCVC) against teen's 4 (CVVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses taken with teen
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: taken is [ˈtakn̩] while teen is [ten]. 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 51001, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
taken is recorded at frequency rank #42,860, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈtakn̩]. teen is at rank #8,141, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ten].
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 51001, this pair ranks #1,152,267 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of taken vs teen
Shared letters: ent. Private to "taken": ak. Private to "teen": -.
"taken" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC · "teen" · 4 letters · shape CVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "taken" for "teen" ever safe?
Which is more common, "taken" or "teen"?
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 "taken" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "teen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,152,267 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "taken" and "teen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "taken vs taking". 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 #1,152,267 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.