taskvsTickTell them apart

Which to use

“task” and “Tick” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#24,534
“task” frequency rank
#19,056
“Tick” frequency rank
43590
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature task Tick
Definition zu erledigende Arbeit; zugewiesener Auftrag; Problem, das man durch Anstrengung oder Nachdenken zu lösen versucht; Teil einer Übung oder Prüfungsarbeit: Aufgabe unkontrollierte Muskelkontraktion

Where the eye mixes task and Tick

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.

4 ch
task
4 ch
Tick

Why the eye confuses task with Tick

A purely visual mix-up. task ([tɑːsk]) and Tick ([tɪk]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 43590, 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]. Tick is at rank #19,056, tagged as anoun, pronounced [tɪk].

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 43590, this pair ranks #1,413,285 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of task vs Tick

Shared letters: kt. Private to "task": as. Private to "Tick": ci.

"task" · 4 letters · shape CVCC  ·  "Tick" · 4 letters · shape CVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • taskatsk · taks · taskk · tassk · tsak · ttask
  • Tickitck · tcik · ticck · tickk · tikc · ttick

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "task" and "Tick" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([tɑːsk] versus [tɪk]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "task" or "Tick"?
"Tick" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #19,056 in our German list, against #24,534 for "task". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "task" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Tick" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,413,285 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "task" and "Tick" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "task vs taut". 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 #1,413,285 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list