Tache vs Tâche: Accent, Meaning, and Examples

Tache and tâche differ only by a small hat, the circumflex. Yet that one mark separates two unrelated words: a stain on one side, a task on the other. Forgetting the accent is therefore not a small slip — it can mean writing a different word than the one you meant.

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Tache: the mark

Tache refers to an area that is stained, coloured, or different from the rest. Both literally and figuratively.

• Une tache de café sur la nappe. (A coffee stain on the tablecloth.)
• Le léopard a des taches. (Leopards have spots.)
• Cet épisode est une tache sur sa réputation. (That episode is a stain on his reputation.)

The matching verb, tacher, means to stain: Attention, tu vas tacher ta chemise.

Tâche: the task

Tâche refers to something you have to do, a mission, a duty. It is the word of work and effort.

• J’ai une tâche urgente à terminer. (I have an urgent task to finish.)
• Répartissons les tâches ménagères. (Let’s divide the household tasks.)
• Sa tâche consiste à accueillir les visiteurs. (Her job is to welcome visitors.)

The matching verb, tâcher (de faire quelque chose), means to try, to make an effort: Tâche d’arriver à l’heure (try to be on time).

A memory trick

The circumflex looks like a small roof. Picture it as the roof of a workshop: under that roof, you work. The tâche (the task) wears the roof; the tache (the mark) stays bare.

A second anchor through the idea of effort: tâche and tâcher share the same â used in words of sustained effort. The work takes the accent; the stain does not need one.

The verb trap

The same rule applies to the verbs, and that is where many learners hesitate.

• Tacher (no accent) = to stain. Ce stylo tache. (This pen leaks.)
• Tâcher (with accent) = to try, to make an effort. Tâche de comprendre. (Try to understand.)

If you mean a stain, no accent. If you mean an effort or a duty, accent. The meaning drives the accent, in both the noun and the verb.

Sentences that put them side by side

To fix the contrast, here are pairs that look alike but mean opposite things.

• Ne tache pas ton cahier. (Don’t stain your notebook.) vs Tâche de finir ton cahier. (Try to finish your notebook.)
• Une tache d’encre. (An ink stain.) vs Une tâche d’écriture. (A writing task.)
• Le mur est plein de taches. (The wall is covered in stains.) vs Ma liste est pleine de tâches. (My list is full of tasks.)

Common mistakes

Skipping the accent on the task. Writing j’ai beaucoup de taches aujourd’hui literally says you have many stains today. The intended meaning calls for tâches.

Adding an accent to the stain. Une tâche de vin is wrong: a mark on fabric is une tache, no hat.

Carrying the accent into the verb by reflex. You see the noun tâche and you add an accent everywhere. Go back to the meaning: stain or effort.

Mini recap

• Tache (no accent) = mark, stain; verb tacher = to stain.
• Tâche (circumflex) = task to accomplish; verb tâcher = to try.
• The roof of the circumflex = the roof of the workshop, where work happens.
• The meaning decides the accent — for the noun and for the verb.

Accents that change meaning are a family of traps in their own right. For two near-twins where no accent is involved, see éminent vs imminent. For a classic homophone, see censé vs sensé. The full map sits in French words that are easy to confuse.