Which to use
“tale” is a verb and “tela” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #49,971
- “tale” frequency rank
- #4,955
- “tela” frequency rank
- 54926
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | tale | tela |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Primera persona del singular (yo) del presente de subjuntivo de talar o de talarse. | Material formado por numerosos hilos dispuestos en dos juegos perpendicularmente dispuestos, llamados urdimbre y trama, que se entrelazan manual o mecánicamente para formar una lámina |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set tale and tela apart are highlighted. They share 2 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: tale is [ˈt̪ale] while tela is [ˈt̪ela]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they are an anagram pair: the same letters reordered, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 54926, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
tale is recorded at frequency rank #49,971, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈt̪ale]. tela is at rank #4,955, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈt̪ela].
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 54926, this pair ranks #81,183 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of tale vs tela
Shared letters: aelt. Private to "tale": -. Private to "tela": -.
"tale" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "tela" · 4 letters · shape CVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "tale" and "tela" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "tale" or "tela"?
Remembering tale vs tela
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “tale”; for a noun, it's “tela”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “tale” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable