Which to use
“tau” is a noun and “tha” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #32,397
- “tau” frequency rank
- #38,931
- “tha” frequency rank
- 71328
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | tau | tha |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | nome da décima nona letra do alfabeto grego (Τ/τ) | presente do verbo bi (ser, estar); sou/estou, é/está, somos/estamos, são/estão |
Where the eye mixes tau and tha
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence. tau (CVV) and tha (CCV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Visual trap between tau and tha
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: tau is /taw/ while tha is /ha/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 71328, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
tau is recorded at frequency rank #32,397, classified as anoun, pronounced /taw/. tha is at rank #38,931, tagged as averb, pronounced /ha/.
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 71328, this pair ranks #3,368 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of tau vs tha
Shared letters: at. Private to "tau": u. Private to "tha": h.
"tau" · 3 letters · shape CVV · "tha" · 3 letters · shape CCV
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "tau" for "tha" ever safe?
In ordinary Portuguese text, does "tau" or "tha" show up more?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "tau" and "tha" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "tau" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "tha" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #3,368 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "tau" and "tha" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "tha vs tosa". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #3,368 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.