Which to use
“takes” is a verb and “times” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #683
- “takes” frequency rank
- #250
- “times” frequency rank
- 933
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | takes | times |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | third-person singular simple present indicative of take | plural of time |
Where the eye mixes takes and times
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 times is /taɪmz/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 933, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
takes is recorded at frequency rank #683, classified as averb, pronounced /teɪks/. times is at rank #250, tagged as anoun, pronounced /taɪmz/.
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 933, this pair ranks #528,472 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of takes vs times
Shared letters: est. Private to "takes": ak. Private to "times": im.
"takes" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC · "times" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC