tablesvstalksConfusable pair

Which to use

“tables” and “talks” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#4,415
“tables” frequency rank
#2,467
“talks” frequency rank
6882
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature tables talks
Definition plural of table plural of talk

Where the eye mixes tables and talks

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.

6 ch
tables
5 ch
talks

Visual trap between tables and talks

A purely visual mix-up. tables (/ˈteɪbl̩z/) and talks (/ˈtɔːks/) 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 6882, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

tables is recorded at frequency rank #4,415, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈteɪbl̩z/. talks is at rank #2,467, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈtɔːks/.

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 6882, this pair ranks #509,591 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of tables vs talks

Shared letters: alst. Private to "tables": be. Private to "talks": k.

"tables" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC  ·  "talks" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • tablesatbles · tabbles · tabels · tabless · tablles · tablse · talbes · tbales
  • talksatlks · takls · talkks · talkss · tallks · talsk · tlaks · ttalks

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "tables" for "talks" ever safe?
No. They are said differently (/ˈteɪbl̩z/ versus /ˈtɔːks/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "tables" vs "talks" - which ranks higher?
"talks" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,467 in our English list, against #4,415 for "tables". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "tables" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "talks" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #509,591 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "tables" and "talks" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "tables vs tamales". 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 #509,591 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list