Which to use
“tartan” and “tartar” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #32,617
- “tartan” frequency rank
- #33,874
- “tartar” frequency rank
- 66491
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | tartan | tartar |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Woven woollen fabric with a distinctive pattern of coloured stripes intersecting at right angles originally associated with Scottish Highlanders, now with different clans (though this only dates from the late 18th century) and some Scottish families and institutions having their own patterns; (countable) a particular type of such fabric. | A red compound deposited during wine making, mostly potassium hydrogen tartrate; wine stone — a source of cream of tartar. |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set tartan and tartar apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
tartan and tartar form a confusable pair in the English index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They differ by a single letter - n in “tartan” becomes r in “tartar” - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 66491, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
tartan is recorded at frequency rank #32,617, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈtɑːt(ə)n/. tartar is at rank #33,874, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈtɑɹ.tɚ/.
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 66491, this pair ranks #67,738 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "tartan" and "tartar" be used interchangeably?
Remembering tartan vs tartar
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “tartan” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable