tacvsticWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#14,971
“tac” frequency rank
#7,634
“tic” frequency rank
22605
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature tac tic
Definition Sonido que se repite con cierta frecuencia similar al ritmo cardiaco. Cada una de las pulsaciones o golpes que da un reloj analógico.

Where the eye mixes tac and tic

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.

3 ch
tac
3 ch
tic

Visual trap between tac and tic

A purely visual mix-up. tac ([ˈt̪ak]) and tic ([ˈt̪ik]) 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 a single letter - a in “tac” becomes i in “tic”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 22605, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

tac is recorded at frequency rank #14,971, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈt̪ak]. tic is at rank #7,634, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈt̪ik].

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 22605, this pair ranks #249,542 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of tac vs tic

Shared letters: ct. Private to "tac": a. Private to "tic": i.

"tac" · 3 letters · shape CVC  ·  "tic" · 3 letters · shape CVC

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "tac" for "tic" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈt̪ak] versus [ˈt̪ik]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "tac" vs "tic" - which ranks higher?
"tic" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #7,634 in our Spanish list, against #14,971 for "tac". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Eye-level mix-up between "tac" and "tic" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "tac" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "tic" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #249,542 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "tac" and "tic" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "tac vs task". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #249,542 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