Which to use
“takes” and “tanks” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #47,639
- “takes” frequency rank
- #20,586
- “tanks” frequency rank
- 68225
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | takes | tanks |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Pluriel de take. | Pluriel de tank. |
Where the eye mixes takes and tanks
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. takes (CVCVC) and tanks (CVCCC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Why the eye confuses takes with tanks
A purely visual mix-up. takes (\tɛk\) and tanks (\tɑ̃k\) 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 68225, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
takes is recorded at frequency rank #47,639, classified as anoun, pronounced \tɛk\. tanks is at rank #20,586, tagged as anoun, pronounced \tɑ̃k\.
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 68225, this pair ranks #60,028 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of takes vs tanks
Shared letters: akst. Private to "takes": e. Private to "tanks": n.
"takes" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC · "tanks" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "takes" for "tanks" ever safe?
Frequency check: "takes" vs "tanks" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "takes" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "tanks" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #60,028 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "takes" and "tanks" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "takes vs Takeshi". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #60,028 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.