tache

\taʃ\

/\taʃ\/ noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

The verdict

“tache” is a regularly-used French word, ranked #8,314 in French word frequency and used as a noun.

#8,314
frequency rank, French
5
letters
7
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Souillure sur quelque chose ; marque qui salit.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

tache vs thé
40% similar
tache vs tae
60% similar
tache vs taxe
60% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for tache
PropertyValue
Headwordtache
LanguageFrench
Part of speechNoun
IPA\taʃ\
Letters5
Frequency rank#8,314
Misspellings tracked7
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “tache” sits in French frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). tache lands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The French entry for tache is 5 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as \taʃ\. Corpus data places it at rank #8,314 in overall French word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 9 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our generated misspelling index lists 7 likely wrong-spelling variants for tache, with forms such as "atche", "tacche", and "taceh". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "thé", "tae", "taxe", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

No explicit etymology string is stored for this entry, so its spelling pattern is best understood through pronunciation rather than a traceable origin. The correct French form is tache, spelled T-A-C-H-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Souillure sur quelque chose ; marque qui salit.
  2. 2
    Flétrissure qui blesse l’honneur, la réputation.
  3. 3
    Marque naturelle qui paraît sur la peau ou sur certains organes → voir tache de rousseur et tache de vin.
  4. 4
    Marque naturelle sur la robe d'un animal.
  5. 5
    Dans un sens analogue, certaines parties des végétaux.
  6. 6
    Se dit en outre de certaines parties obscures sur le disque du Soleil, de la Lune, des planètes et des satellites.
  7. 7
    Masse de couleur sans transparence et sans harmonie avec le reste du tableau.
  8. 8
    Défaut qui dépare un ouvrage, spécialement un ouvrage de l’esprit.
  9. 9
    Personne sans consistance, inutile.

Synonyms

bougnettesalissureangiometachon

This word in other languages

stain(English)mancha(Español)Fleck(Deutsch)mancha(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: atche,tacche,taceh,tachhe,tahce,tcahe,ttache

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of tache - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

atche2tacche1taceh2tachhe1tahce2tcahe2ttache1
Edit distance from "tache"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 French corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "tache"?
"tache" is spelled T-A-C-H-E. The IPA pronunciation is \taʃ\.
What does "tache" mean?
As a noun, "tache" means: Souillure sur quelque chose ; marque qui salit.
What words are commonly confused with "tache"?
"tache" is commonly confused with "thé", "tae", "taxe". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "tache"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "tache" is \taʃ\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "tache" come from?
"tache" is a French word. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for this and other words across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German on PlainSpell.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Using “tache”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct French spelling is T-A-C-H-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as \taʃ\ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “thé” - see the side-by-side comparison. tache vs thé
  • Browse more French words and confusable pairs in the same reference. French words
Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list