Which to use
“tann” is a pronoun and “taut” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #44,964
- “tann” frequency rank
- #49,293
- “taut” frequency rank
- 94257
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | tann | taut |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | der, die, das; dieser, diese, dieses | 3. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs tauen |
Where the eye mixes tann and taut
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence. tann (CVCC) and taut (CVVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Why the eye confuses tann with taut
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: tann is [tanː] while taut is [taʊ̯t]. 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 (pronoun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 94257, 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]. taut is at rank #49,293, tagged as averb, pronounced [taʊ̯t].
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 94257, this pair ranks #17,762 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of tann vs taut
Shared letters: at. Private to "tann": n. Private to "taut": u.
"tann" · 4 letters · shape CVCC · "taut" · 4 letters · shape CVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "tann" for "taut" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "tann" or "taut" show up more?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "tann" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "taut" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #17,762 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "tann" and "taut" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Taft vs taut". 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 #17,762 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.