tannvsTanzWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#44,964
“tann” frequency rank
#3,488
“Tanz” frequency rank
48452
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature tann Tanz
Definition der, die, das; dieser, diese, dieses (rhythmischer) Bewegungsablauf, der zu Musik oder rhythmischen Geräuschen ausgeführt wird

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set tann and Tanz apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch
tann
4 ch
Tanz

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: tann is [tanː] while Tanz is [tant͡s]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - n in “tann” becomes z in “Tanz”, and the parts of speech differ too (pronoun vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 48452, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

tann is recorded at frequency rank #44,964, classified as apron, pronounced [tanː]. Tanz is at rank #3,488, tagged as anoun, pronounced [tant͡s].

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 48452, this pair ranks #1,248,084 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of tann vs Tanz

Shared letters: ant. Private to "tann": -. Private to "Tanz": z.

"tann" · 4 letters · shape CVCC  ·  "Tanz" · 4 letters · shape CVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • tannatnn · tnan · ttann
  • Tanzatnz · tannz · tanzz · tazn · tnaz · ttanz

Frequency comparison

tann#44,964
Tanz#3,488

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "tann" and "Tanz" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "tann" is a pronoun and "Tanz" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "tann" or "Tanz"?
"Tanz" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,488 in our German list, against #44,964 for "tann". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering tann vs Tanz

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a pronoun, it's “tann”; for a noun, it's “Tanz”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “tann” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list