Which to use
“tape” and “types” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #3,398
- “tape” frequency rank
- #1,509
- “types” frequency rank
- 4907
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | tape | types |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Flexible material in a roll with a sticky surface on one or both sides; adhesive tape. | plural of type |
Where the eye mixes tape and types
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses tape with types
A purely visual mix-up. tape (/teɪ̯p/) and types (/taɪps/) 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 4907, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
tape is recorded at frequency rank #3,398, classified as anoun, pronounced /teɪ̯p/. types is at rank #1,509, tagged as anoun, pronounced /taɪps/.
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 4907, this pair ranks #517,267 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of tape vs types
Shared letters: ept. Private to "tape": a. Private to "types": sy.
"tape" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "types" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "tape" and "types" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary English text, does "tape" or "types" show up more?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "tape" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "types" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #517,267 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "tape" and "types" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Taf vs tape". 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 #517,267 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.