Which to use
“taken” is an adjective and “takes” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #40,041
- “taken” frequency rank
- #47,639
- “takes” frequency rank
- 87680
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | taken | takes |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Accusatif masculin singulier de la déclinaison faible de tak. | Pluriel de take. |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set taken and takes apart are highlighted. They share 4 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: taken is \ˈtakn̩\ while takes is \tɛk\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - n in “taken” becomes s in “takes”, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 87680, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
taken is recorded at frequency rank #40,041, classified as anadj, pronounced \ˈtakn̩\. takes is at rank #47,639, tagged as anoun, pronounced \tɛk\.
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 87680, this pair ranks #7,946 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of taken vs takes
Shared letters: aekt. Private to "taken": n. Private to "takes": s.
"taken" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC · "takes" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "taken" and "takes" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "taken" or "takes"?
Remembering taken vs takes
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “taken”; for a noun, it's “takes”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “taken” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable