Which to use
“takes” is a verb and “tape” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #683
- “takes” frequency rank
- #3,398
- “tape” frequency rank
- 4081
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | takes | tape |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | third-person singular simple present indicative of take | Flexible material in a roll with a sticky surface on one or both sides; adhesive tape. |
Where the eye mixes takes and tape
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: takes is /teɪks/ while tape is /teɪ̯p/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 4081, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
takes is recorded at frequency rank #683, classified as averb, pronounced /teɪks/. tape is at rank #3,398, tagged as anoun, pronounced /teɪ̯p/.
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 4081, this pair ranks #520,052 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of takes vs tape
Shared letters: aet. Private to "takes": ks. Private to "tape": p.
"takes" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC · "tape" · 4 letters · shape CVCV