Which to use
“tarsus” and “tasks” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #45,692
- “tarsus” frequency rank
- #4,904
- “tasks” frequency rank
- 50596
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | tarsus | tasks |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | The part between the main part of the hindlimb and the metatarsus in terrestrial vertebrates. | plural of task |
Where the eye mixes tarsus and tasks
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. tarsus runs 6 letters (CVCCVC) against tasks's 5 (CVCCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between tarsus and tasks
A purely visual mix-up. tarsus (/ˈtɑː.səs/) and tasks (/tɑːsks/) 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 50596, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
tarsus is recorded at frequency rank #45,692, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈtɑː.səs/. tasks is at rank #4,904, tagged as anoun, pronounced /tɑːsks/.
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 50596, this pair ranks #172,846 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of tarsus vs tasks
Shared letters: ast. Private to "tarsus": ru. Private to "tasks": k.
"tarsus" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "tasks" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "tarsus" for "tasks" ever safe?
Frequency check: "tarsus" vs "tasks" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "tarsus" and "tasks" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "tarsus" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "tasks" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #172,846 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "tarsus" and "tasks" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "tarsus vs torus". 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 #172,846 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.