tachevstâchezWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: tache is a noun, tâchez is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“tache” is a noun and “tâchez” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#8,314
“tache” frequency rank
#47,666
“tâchez” frequency rank
55980
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature tache tâchez
Definition Souillure sur quelque chose ; marque qui salit. Deuxième personne du pluriel du présent de l’indicatif de tâcher.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set tache and tâchez apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
tache
6 ch
tâchez

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: tache is \taʃ\ while tâchez is \tɑ.ʃe\. 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 verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 55980, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

tache is recorded at frequency rank #8,314, classified as anoun, pronounced \taʃ\. tâchez is at rank #47,666, tagged as averb, pronounced \tɑ.ʃe\.

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 55980, this pair ranks #123,966 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of tache vs tâchez

Shared letters: ceht. Private to "tache": a. Private to "tâchez": .

"tache" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV  ·  "tâchez" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • tacheatche · tacche · taceh · tachhe · tahce · tcahe · ttache

Frequency comparison

tache#8,314
tâchez#47,666

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "tache" and "tâchez" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "tache" is a noun and "tâchez" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "tache" or "tâchez"?
"tache" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #8,314 in our French list, against #47,666 for "tâchez". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering tache vs tâchez

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “tache”; for a verb, it's “tâchez”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “tache” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

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

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