Which to use
“tio” is a noun and “took” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #2,211
- “tio” frequency rank
- #40,361
- “took” frequency rank
- 42572
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | tio | took |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | irmão da mãe ou do pai | pretérito do verbo take |
Where the eye mixes tio and took
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence. tio runs 3 letters (CVV) against took's 4 (CVVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between tio and took
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: tio is /ti.u/ [t͡ʃiu̯], [tiu̯] 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 (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 42572, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
tio is recorded at frequency rank #2,211, classified as anoun, pronounced /ti.u/ [t͡ʃiu̯], [tiu̯]. 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 42572, this pair ranks #23,185 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of tio vs took
Shared letters: ot. Private to "tio": i. Private to "took": k.
"tio" · 3 letters · shape CVV · "took" · 4 letters · shape CVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- took ← otok · tok · toko · tookk · ttook
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "tio" for "took" ever safe?
Which is more common, "tio" or "took"?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "tio" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "took" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #23,185 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "tio" and "took" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "took vs tosa". 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 #23,185 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.