Which to use
“tale” is a noun and “tão” is an adverb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #40,352
- “tale” frequency rank
- #119
- “tão” frequency rank
- 40471
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | tale | tão |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | discurso, fala | tanto, com tal intensidade |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set tale and tão apart are highlighted. They share 1 letter in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: tale is /taːlə/, [ˈtˢæːlə] 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 40471, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
tale is recorded at frequency rank #40,352, classified as anoun, pronounced /taːlə/, [ˈtˢæːlə]. 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 40471, this pair ranks #25,634 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of tale vs tão
Shared letters: t. Private to "tale": ael. Private to "tão": oã.
"tale" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "tão" · 3 letters · shape CVV
Known mistypes of this pair
- tale ← atle · tael · talle · tlae · ttale
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "tale" and "tão" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "tale" or "tão"?
Remembering tale vs tão
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “tale”; for an adverb, it's “tão”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “tale” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable