Which to use
“tale” and “trave” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #40,352
- “tale” frequency rank
- #14,041
- “trave” frequency rank
- 54393
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | tale | trave |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | discurso, fala | tronco comprido e grosso que constitui a estrutura principal de uma construção |
Where the eye mixes tale and trave
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. tale runs 4 letters (CVCV) against trave's 5 (CCVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses tale with trave
A purely visual mix-up. tale (/taːlə/, [ˈtˢæːlə]) and trave (/ˈtɾa.vɨ/) 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 54393, 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]. trave is at rank #14,041, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈtɾa.vɨ/.
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 54393, this pair ranks #11,300 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of tale vs trave
Shared letters: aet. Private to "tale": l. Private to "trave": rv.
"tale" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "trave" · 5 letters · shape CCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "tale" for "trave" ever safe?
Which is more common, "tale" or "trave"?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "tale" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "trave" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #11,300 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "tale" and "trave" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "talão vs tale". 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
Confusion rank #11,300 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.