taskvstoastWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#41,562
“task” frequency rank
#29,569
“toast” frequency rank
71131
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature task toast
Definition Tâche, devoir. Proposition de boire à la santé de quelqu’un, à l’accomplissement d’un vœu, etc.

Where the spellings diverge

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

4 ch
task
5 ch
toast

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. task (\ˈtæsk\) and toast (\tost\) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 71131, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

task is recorded at frequency rank #41,562, classified as anoun, pronounced \ˈtæsk\. toast is at rank #29,569, tagged as anoun, pronounced \tost\.

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 71131, this pair ranks #48,693 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of task vs toast

Shared letters: ast. Private to "task": k. Private to "toast": o.

"task" · 4 letters · shape CVCC  ·  "toast" · 5 letters · shape CVVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • taskatsk · taks · taskk · tassk · tsak · ttask
  • toastotast · taost · toasst · toastt · toats · tosat · ttoast

Frequency comparison

task#41,562
toast#29,569

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "task" and "toast" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\ˈtæsk\ versus \tost\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "task" or "toast"?
"toast" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #29,569 in our French list, against #41,562 for "task". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering task vs toast

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 “task” 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