taskvstautWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: task is a noun, taut is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“task” is a noun and “taut” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#24,534
“task” frequency rank
#49,293
“taut” frequency rank
73827
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature task taut
Definition zu erledigende Arbeit; zugewiesener Auftrag; Problem, das man durch Anstrengung oder Nachdenken zu lösen versucht; Teil einer Übung oder Prüfungsarbeit: Aufgabe 3. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs tauen

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set task and taut apart are highlighted. They share 2 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch
task
4 ch
taut

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: task is [tɑːsk] while taut is [taʊ̯t]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 73827, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

task is recorded at frequency rank #24,534, classified as anoun, pronounced [tɑːsk]. taut is at rank #49,293, tagged as averb, pronounced [taʊ̯t].

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 73827, this pair ranks #349,945 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of task vs taut

Shared letters: at. Private to "task": ks. Private to "taut": u.

"task" · 4 letters · shape CVCC  ·  "taut" · 4 letters · shape CVVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • taskatsk · taks · taskk · tassk · tsak · ttask
  • tautatut · tatu · tautt · ttaut · tuat

Frequency comparison

task#24,534
taut#49,293

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "task" and "taut" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "task" is a noun and "taut" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "task" or "taut"?
"task" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #24,534 in our German list, against #49,293 for "taut". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering task vs taut

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “task”; for a verb, it's “taut”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “task” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list