tasvstmaWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#2,392
“tas” frequency rank
#48,830
“tma” frequency rank
51222
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature tas tma
Definition Monceau, amas, accumulation de choses. Obscurité, ténèbres.

Where the eye mixes tas and tma

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.

3 ch
tas
3 ch
tma

Why the eye confuses tas with tma

A purely visual mix-up. tas (\tɑ\) and tma (\tma\) 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 51222, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

tas is recorded at frequency rank #2,392, classified as anoun, pronounced \tɑ\. tma is at rank #48,830, tagged as anoun, pronounced \tma\.

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 51222, this pair ranks #156,646 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of tas vs tma

Shared letters: at. Private to "tas": s. Private to "tma": m.

"tas" · 3 letters · shape CVC  ·  "tma" · 3 letters · shape CCV

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "tas" for "tma" ever safe?
No. They are said differently (\tɑ\ versus \tma\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "tas" or "tma"?
"tas" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,392 in our French list, against #48,830 for "tma". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

What to do next

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "tas" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "tma" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #156,646 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "tas" and "tma" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "tif vs tma". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #156,646 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list