Which to use
“tad” is a noun and “told” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #49,386
- “tad” frequency rank
- #45,349
- “told” frequency rank
- 94735
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | tad | told |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Tantinet. | Prétérit de tell. |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set tad and told apart are highlighted. They share 2 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: tad is \tæd\ while told is \təʊld\. 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 94735, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
tad is recorded at frequency rank #49,386, classified as anoun, pronounced \tæd\. told is at rank #45,349, tagged as averb, pronounced \təʊld\.
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 94735, this pair ranks #1,455 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of tad vs told
Shared letters: dt. Private to "tad": a. Private to "told": lo.
"tad" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "told" · 4 letters · shape CVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
- told ← otld · tlod · todl · toldd · tolld · ttold
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "tad" and "told" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "tad" or "told"?
Remembering tad vs told
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “tad”; for a verb, it's “told”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “tad” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable