Which to use
“tabu” is a noun and “tão” is an adverb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #14,249
- “tabu” frequency rank
- #119
- “tão” frequency rank
- 14368
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | tabu | tão |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | medo ou proibição de origem religiosa ou social | tanto, com tal intensidade |
Where the eye mixes tabu and tão
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: tabu is /ta.ˈbu/ while tão is /ˈtɐ̃w̃/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs adverb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 14368, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
tabu is recorded at frequency rank #14,249, classified as anoun, pronounced /ta.ˈbu/. tão is at rank #119, tagged as anadv, pronounced /ˈtɐ̃w̃/.
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 14368, this pair ranks #57,733 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of tabu vs tão
Shared letters: t. Private to "tabu": abu. Private to "tão": oã.
"tabu" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "tão" · 3 letters · shape CVV
Known mistypes of this pair
- tabu ← atbu · tabbu · taub · tbau · ttabu
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "tabu" and "tão" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "tabu" or "tão"?
What to do next
You've compared "tabu" and "tão". Here's where to go from here.
- Full dictionary entry for "tabu" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "tão" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #57,733 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "tabu" and "tão" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "tabu vs tak". 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
PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.