tamvstaskTell them apart

Quick tell: tam is a adverb, task is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“tam” is an adverb and “task” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#20,525
“tam” frequency rank
#49,974
“task” frequency rank
70499
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature tam task
Definition Tan. Tarea.

Where the eye mixes tam and task

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.

3 ch
tam
4 ch
task

Why the eye confuses tam with task

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: tam is [ˈtam] while task is /tæsk/. 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 (adverb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 70499, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

tam is recorded at frequency rank #20,525, classified as anadv, pronounced [ˈtam]. task is at rank #49,974, tagged as anoun, pronounced /tæsk/.

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 70499, this pair ranks #29,553 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of tam vs task

Shared letters: at. Private to "tam": m. Private to "task": ks.

"tam" · 3 letters · shape CVC  ·  "task" · 4 letters · shape CVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • taskatsk · taks · taskk · tassk · tsak · ttask

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "tam" for "task" ever safe?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "tam" is an adverb and "task" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
In ordinary Spanish text, does "tam" or "task" show up more?
"tam" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #20,525 in our Spanish list, against #49,974 for "task". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "tam" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "task" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #29,553 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "tam" and "task" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "tapo 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 #29,553 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list