Which to use
“tac” and “thu” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #14,369
- “tac” frequency rank
- #48,228
- “thu” frequency rank
- 62597
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | tac | thu |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Nom vulgaire d’une sorte de gale à laquelle le cheval, le chien et le mouton sont le plus sujets. | Forme mutée de tu par spirantisation. |
Where the eye mixes tac and thu
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.
Why the eye confuses tac with thu
A purely visual mix-up. tac (\tak\) and thu (\θɨː\) 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 62597, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
tac is recorded at frequency rank #14,369, classified as anoun, pronounced \tak\. thu is at rank #48,228, tagged as anoun, pronounced \θɨː\.
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 62597, this pair ranks #86,283 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of tac vs thu
Shared letters: t. Private to "tac": ac. Private to "thu": hu.
"tac" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "thu" · 3 letters · shape CCV
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "tac" and "thu" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary French text, does "tac" or "thu" show up more?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "tac" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "thu" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #86,283 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "tac" and "thu" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "thu vs tif". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #86,283 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.