tablesvstamalesWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#4,415
“tables” frequency rank
#49,665
“tamales” frequency rank
54080
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature tables tamales
Definition plural of table plural of tamal

Letter map: tables vs tamales

Shared letters muted; letters that set tables and tamales apart highlighted. Shared run: 5. tables runs 6 letters (CVCCVC) against tamales's 7 (CVCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

6 ch
tables
7 ch
tamales

Pair insight - tables / tamales

tables and tamales are indexed as a confusable English pair. We have no recorded pronunciation or part of speech for both members, so the spelling overlap is what we can show you: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 54080, 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/. tamales is at rank #49,665, tagged as anoun.

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 54080, this pair ranks #143,877 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of tables vs tamales

Shared letters: aelst. Private to "tables": b. Private to "tamales": m.

"tables" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC  ·  "tamales" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • tables ← atbles · tabbles · tabels · tabless · tablles · tablse · talbes · tbales
  • tamales ← atmales · taamles · tamaels · tamaless · tamalles · tamalse · tamlaes · tammales

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "tables" and "tamales" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They differ by 1 letter(s) in length, but the dictionary glosses above give them different meanings, so swapping one for the other changes what the sentence says.
Frequency check: "tables" vs "tamales" - which ranks higher?
"tables" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,415 in our English list, against #49,665 for "tamales". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

After this comparison

Pair "tables" vs "tamales" is on the table, pick a follow-up below.

  • Full dictionary entry for "tables" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "tamales" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #143,877 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "tables" and "tamales" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "tamales vs Thales". 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 #143,877 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