talevstrajeWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: tale is a verb, traje is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“tale” is a verb and “traje” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#49,971
“tale” frequency rank
#3,452
“traje” frequency rank
53423
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature tale traje
Definition Primera persona del singular (yo) del presente de subjuntivo de talar o de talarse. El modo particular de vestir.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set tale and traje apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch
tale
5 ch
traje

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: tale is [ˈt̪ale] while traje is [ˈt̪ɾaxe]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 53423, 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]. traje is at rank #3,452, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈt̪ɾaxe].

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 53423, this pair ranks #87,942 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of tale vs traje

Shared letters: aet. Private to "tale": l. Private to "traje": jr.

"tale" · 4 letters · shape CVCV  ·  "traje" · 5 letters · shape CCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • taleatle · tael · tlae · ttale
  • trajertaje · tarje · traej · trajje · trjae · trraje · ttraje

Frequency comparison

tale#49,971
traje#3,452

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "tale" and "traje" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "tale" is a verb and "traje" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "tale" or "traje"?
"traje" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,452 in our Spanish list, against #49,971 for "tale". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering tale vs traje

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 “traje”.
  • 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

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list