tabúesvstardesTell them apart

Which to use

“tabúes” and “tardes” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#42,720
“tabúes” frequency rank
#4,202
“tardes” frequency rank
46922
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature tabúes tardes
Definition Forma del plural de tabú. Forma del plural de tarde.

Where the eye mixes tabúes and tardes

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. tabúes (CVCVVC) and tardes (CVCCVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.

6 ch
tabúes
6 ch
tardes

Why the eye confuses tabúes with tardes

A purely visual mix-up. tabúes ([t̪aˈβ̞ues]) and tardes ([ˈt̪aɾð̞es]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 46922, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

tabúes is recorded at frequency rank #42,720, classified as anoun, pronounced [t̪aˈβ̞ues]. tardes is at rank #4,202, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈt̪aɾð̞es].

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 46922, this pair ranks #122,982 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of tabúes vs tardes

Shared letters: aest. Private to "tabúes": bú. Private to "tardes": dr.

"tabúes" · 6 letters · shape CVCVVC  ·  "tardes" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • tardes ← atrdes · tadres · tarddes · tardess · tardse · tareds · tarrdes · trades

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "tabúes" and "tardes" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([t̪aˈβ̞ues] versus [ˈt̪aɾð̞es]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "tabúes" vs "tardes" - which ranks higher?
"tardes" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,202 in our Spanish list, against #42,720 for "tabúes". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

After this comparison

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "tabúes" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "tardes" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #122,982 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "tabúes" and "tardes" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "table vs tabúes". 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 #122,982 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list