Which to use
“takes” is an adjective and “tale” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #30,805
- “takes” frequency rank
- #32,304
- “tale” frequency rank
- 63109
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | takes | tale |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Nominativ Singular Neutrum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs tak | Bericht |
Where the eye mixes takes and tale
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: takes vs tale
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: takes is [ˈtakəs] while tale is [ˈteɪl]. 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 63109, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
takes is recorded at frequency rank #30,805, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈtakəs]. tale is at rank #32,304, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈteɪl].
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 63109, this pair ranks #688,469 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of takes vs tale
Shared letters: aet. Private to "takes": ks. Private to "tale": l.
"takes" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC · "tale" · 4 letters · shape CVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "takes" and "tale" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "takes" vs "tale" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "takes" and "tale" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "takes" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "tale" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #688,469 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "takes" and "tale" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "tale vs tine". 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 #688,469 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.