tätevstotWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: täte is a verb, tot is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“täte” is a verb and “tot” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#17,434
“täte” frequency rank
#1,525
“tot” frequency rank
18959
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature täte tot
Definition 1. Person Singular Konjunktiv Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs tun nicht (mehr) lebend

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set täte and tot apart are highlighted. They share 2 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch
täte
3 ch
tot

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: täte is [ˈtɛːtə] while tot is [toːt]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 18959, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

täte is recorded at frequency rank #17,434, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈtɛːtə]. tot is at rank #1,525, tagged as anadj, pronounced [toːt].

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 18959, this pair ranks #1,913,164 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of täte vs tot

Shared letters: t. Private to "täte": . Private to "tot": o.

"täte" · 4 letters · shape CVCV  ·  "tot" · 3 letters · shape CVC

Frequency comparison

täte#17,434
tot#1,525

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "täte" and "tot" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "täte" is a verb and "tot" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "täte" or "tot"?
"tot" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,525 in our German list, against #17,434 for "täte". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering täte vs tot

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “täte”; for an adjective, it's “tot”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “täte” 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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list