TanzvsTonTell them apart

Which to use

“Tanz” and “Ton” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#3,488
“Tanz” frequency rank
#2,180
“Ton” frequency rank
5668
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Tanz Ton
Definition (rhythmischer) Bewegungsablauf, der zu Musik oder rhythmischen Geräuschen ausgeführt wird feinkörniges Verwitterungsprodukt, Bodenart, Töpfermaterial, Baustoff/Werkstoff

Where the eye mixes Tanz and Ton

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.

4 ch
Tanz
3 ch
Ton

Why the eye confuses Tanz with Ton

A purely visual mix-up. Tanz ([tant͡s]) and Ton ([toːn]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 5668, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Tanz is recorded at frequency rank #3,488, classified as anoun, pronounced [tant͡s]. Ton is at rank #2,180, tagged as anoun, pronounced [toːn].

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 5668, this pair ranks #1,994,090 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Tanz vs Ton

Shared letters: nt. Private to "Tanz": az. Private to "Ton": o.

"Tanz" · 4 letters · shape CVCC  ·  "Ton" · 3 letters · shape CVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Tanzatnz · tannz · tanzz · tazn · tnaz · ttanz

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "Tanz" and "Ton" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([tant͡s] versus [toːn]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Tanz" or "Ton"?
"Ton" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,180 in our German list, against #3,488 for "Tanz". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Tanz" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Ton" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,994,090 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Tanz" and "Ton" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Tanz 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 #1,994,090 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