Which to use
“tad” and “tape” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #46,240
- “tad” frequency rank
- #27,796
- “tape” frequency rank
- 74036
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | tad | tape |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Padre. | Persona aindiada, de color moreno, que conserva el tipo de los guaraníes que habitaban la reducción jesuítica de Santo Tomé Apóstol en las Misiones, a la cual se decía Provincia del Tapé. |
Where the eye mixes tad and tape
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence. tad runs 3 letters (CVC) against tape's 4 (CVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between tad and tape
A purely visual mix-up. tad (/ˈtɑːt/) and tape ([ˈt̪ape]) 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 74036, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
tad is recorded at frequency rank #46,240, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈtɑːt/. tape is at rank #27,796, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈt̪ape].
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 74036, this pair ranks #22,082 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of tad vs tape
Shared letters: at. Private to "tad": d. Private to "tape": ep.
"tad" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "tape" · 4 letters · shape CVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- tape ← atpe · taep · tappe · tpae · ttape
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "tad" for "tape" ever safe?
In ordinary Spanish text, does "tad" or "tape" show up more?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "tad" and "tape" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "tad" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "tape" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #22,082 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "tad" and "tape" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "tad vs task". 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 #22,082 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.