Which to use
“taut” and “tax” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #49,293
- “taut” frequency rank
- #26,639
- “tax” frequency rank
- 75932
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | taut | tax |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 3. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs tauen | 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs taxen |
Where the eye mixes taut and tax
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence. taut runs 4 letters (CVVC) against tax's 3 (CVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between taut and tax
A purely visual mix-up. taut ([taʊ̯t]) and tax ([taks]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 75932, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
taut is recorded at frequency rank #49,293, classified as averb, pronounced [taʊ̯t]. tax is at rank #26,639, tagged as averb, pronounced [taks].
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 75932, this pair ranks #295,829 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of taut vs tax
Shared letters: at. Private to "taut": u. Private to "tax": x.
"taut" · 4 letters · shape CVVC · "tax" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- taut ← atut · tatu · tautt · ttaut · tuat
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "taut" and "tax" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary German text, does "taut" or "tax" show up more?
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 "taut" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "tax" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #295,829 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "taut" and "tax" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Taft 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 #295,829 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.