Which to use
“tab” and “tos” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #20,865
- “tab” frequency rank
- #48,234
- “tos” frequency rank
- 69099
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | tab | tos |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Vignette attenant à un timbre situé en bord de feuille (ce terme est généralement utilisé pour parler des vignettes de bas de feuille des timbres israéliens). | Élève de première année à l’École polytechnique. |
Where the eye mixes tab and tos
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.
Why the eye confuses tab with tos
A purely visual mix-up. tab (\tab\) and tos (\tos\) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 69099, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
tab is recorded at frequency rank #20,865, classified as anoun, pronounced \tab\. tos is at rank #48,234, tagged as anoun, pronounced \tos\.
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 69099, this pair ranks #56,477 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of tab vs tos
Shared letters: t. Private to "tab": ab. Private to "tos": os.
"tab" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "tos" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "tab" for "tos" ever safe?
In ordinary French text, does "tab" or "tos" show up more?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "tab" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "tos" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #56,477 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "tab" and "tos" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "tif vs tos". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #56,477 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.