Which to use
“tale” is a verb and “tilde” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #49,971
- “tale” frequency rank
- #24,332
- “tilde” frequency rank
- 74303
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | tale | tilde |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Primera persona del singular (yo) del presente de subjuntivo de talar o de talarse. | El acento agudo; marca gráfica ´ que se usa, en castellano, para indicar la sílaba en donde recae el acento prosódico cuando las reglas ortográficas prescriben que es necesario hacerlo o que, de lo contrario, caería en otra sílaba. |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set tale and tilde apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
tale and tilde form a confusable pair in the Spanish index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They differ by 1 letter(s) in length - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 74303, 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]. tilde is at rank #24,332, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈt̪il̪d̪e].
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 74303, this pair ranks #21,559 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "tale" and "tilde" be used interchangeably?
Remembering tale vs tilde
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 “tilde”.
- 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