Which to use
“tac” is a noun and “tu” is a pronoun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #14,369
- “tac” frequency rank
- #40
- “tu” frequency rank
- 14409
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | tac | tu |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Nom vulgaire d’une sorte de gale à laquelle le cheval, le chien et le mouton sont le plus sujets. | Pronom personnel sujet de la deuxième personne du singulier. |
Where the eye mixes tac and tu
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.
Visual trap between tac and tu
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: tac is \tak\ while tu is \ty\. 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 (noun vs pronoun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 14409, 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\. tu is at rank #40, tagged as apron, pronounced \ty\.
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 14409, this pair ranks #396,811 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of tac vs tu
Shared letters: t. Private to "tac": ac. Private to "tu": u.
"tac" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "tu" · 2 letters · shape CV
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "tac" for "tu" ever safe?
In ordinary French text, does "tac" or "tu" 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 "tac" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "tu" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #396,811 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "tac" and "tu" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "tac vs tif". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #396,811 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.