Which to use
“tão” is an adverb and “took” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #119
- “tão” frequency rank
- #40,361
- “took” frequency rank
- 40480
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | tão | took |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | tanto, com tal intensidade | pretérito do verbo take |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set tão and took apart are highlighted. They share 2 letters 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: tão is /ˈtɐ̃w̃/ while took is /tʊk/. 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 (adverb vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 40480, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
tão is recorded at frequency rank #119, classified as anadv, pronounced /ˈtɐ̃w̃/. took is at rank #40,361, tagged as averb, pronounced /tʊk/.
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 40480, this pair ranks #25,622 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of tão vs took
Shared letters: ot. Private to "tão": ã. Private to "took": k.
"tão" · 3 letters · shape CVV · "took" · 4 letters · shape CVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- took ← otok · tok · toko · tookk · ttook
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "tão" and "took" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "tão" or "took"?
Remembering tão vs took
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need an adverb, it's “tão”; for a verb, it's “took”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “tão” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable