takesvstêtesWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“takes” and “têtes” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#47,639
“takes” frequency rank
#3,048
“têtes” frequency rank
50687
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature takes têtes
Definition Pluriel de take. Pluriel de tête.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set takes and têtes apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
takes
5 ch
têtes

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. takes (\tɛk\) and têtes (\tɛːt\) 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 50687, 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\. têtes is at rank #3,048, tagged as anoun, pronounced \tɛːt\.

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 50687, this pair ranks #160,713 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of takes vs têtes

Shared letters: est. Private to "takes": ak. Private to "têtes": ê.

"takes" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC  ·  "têtes" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • takesatkes · taeks · takess · takkes · takse · tkaes · ttakes

Frequency comparison

takes#47,639
têtes#3,048

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "takes" and "têtes" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\tɛk\ versus \tɛːt\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "takes" or "têtes"?
"têtes" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,048 in our French list, against #47,639 for "takes". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering takes vs têtes

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “takes” 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