TANvstannWhich spelling fits?

Quick tell: TAN is a noun, tann is a pronoun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“TAN” is a noun and “tann” is a pronoun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#15,492
“TAN” frequency rank
#44,964
“tann” frequency rank
60456
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature TAN tann
Definition Transaktionsnummer der, die, das; dieser, diese, dieses

Same sound, different letters: TAN vs tann

Muted letters are shared; highlighted letters are the only spelling cue when pronunciation matches. Shared run: 3 letters.

3 ch
TAN
4 ch
tann

Ear matches; page differs - TAN and tann

Say them out loud and nothing separates them: TAN and tann carry the same recorded pronunciation, [tan]. Grammar is what tells them apart: one is anoun, the other apronoun, so most sentences will only accept one of them. They differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “TAN” sits inside “tann”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 60456, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

TAN is recorded at frequency rank #15,492, classified as anoun, pronounced [tan]. tann is at rank #44,964, tagged as apron, pronounced [tanː].

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 60456, this pair ranks #786,288 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of TAN vs tann

Shared letters: ant. Private to "TAN": -. Private to "tann": -.

"TAN" · 3 letters · shape CVC  ·  "tann" · 4 letters · shape CVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • tannatnn · tnan · ttann

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "TAN" and "tann" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "TAN" is a noun and "tann" a pronoun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "TAN" or "tann"?
"TAN" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #15,492 in our German list, against #44,964 for "tann". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Sound matches; spelling doesn't. Use the exits below to lock the right form or check a cousin pair.

  • Full dictionary entry for "TAN" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "tann" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #786,288 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "TAN" and "tann" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "tann vs tine". 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 #786,288 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list