tacónvstalónWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#28,581
“tacón” frequency rank
#21,174
“talón” frequency rank
49755
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature tacón talón
Definition Pieza fijada a la suela del calzado, debajo del talón del pie, para dar soporte a este Parte posterior del pie con la que se pisa.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set tacón and talón apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
tacón
5 ch
talón

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. tacón ([t̪aˈkõn]) and talón ([t̪aˈlõn]) 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 - c in “tacón” becomes l in “talón”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 49755, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

tacón is recorded at frequency rank #28,581, classified as anoun, pronounced [t̪aˈkõn]. talón is at rank #21,174, tagged as anoun, pronounced [t̪aˈlõn].

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 49755, this pair ranks #107,002 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of tacón vs talón

Shared letters: antó. Private to "tacón": c. Private to "talón": l.

"tacón" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC  ·  "talón" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC

Frequency comparison

tacón#28,581
talón#21,174

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "tacón" and "talón" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([t̪aˈkõn] versus [t̪aˈlõn]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "tacón" or "talón"?
"talón" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #21,174 in our Spanish list, against #28,581 for "tacón". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering tacón vs talón

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 “tacón” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list