tarvstusWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: tar is a verb, tus is an intj, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“tar” is a verb and “tus” is an intj - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#27,797
“tar” frequency rank
#230
“tus” frequency rank
28027
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature tar tus
Definition Variante subestándar de estar. Se usa para llamar a los perros, generalmente repetida.

Where the eye mixes tar and tus

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.

3 ch
tar
3 ch
tus

Visual trap between tar and tus

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: tar is [ˈt̪aɾ] while tus is [t̪us]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs intj), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 28027, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

tar is recorded at frequency rank #27,797, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈt̪aɾ]. tus is at rank #230, tagged as anintj, pronounced [t̪us].

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 28027, this pair ranks #224,006 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of tar vs tus

Shared letters: t. Private to "tar": ar. Private to "tus": su.

"tar" · 3 letters · shape CVC  ·  "tus" · 3 letters · shape CVC

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "tar" and "tus" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "tar" is a verb and "tus" an intj, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Frequency check: "tar" vs "tus" - which ranks higher?
"tus" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #230 in our Spanish list, against #27,797 for "tar". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

What to do next

Eye-level mix-up between "tar" and "tus" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "tar" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "tus" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #224,006 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "tar" and "tus" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "tar vs task". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #224,006 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