Which to use
“täte” is a verb and “Totem” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #17,434
- “täte” frequency rank
- #42,185
- “Totem” frequency rank
- 59619
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | täte | Totem |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 1. Person Singular Konjunktiv Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs tun | ein Lebewesen, eine Pflanze oder ein Tier, das als der Urahn, als der heilige Vorfahr angesehen wird (in animistischen Völkern) |
Where the eye mixes täte and Totem
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. täte runs 4 letters (CVCV) against Totem's 5 (CVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: täte vs Totem
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: täte is [ˈtɛːtə] while Totem is [ˈtoːtɛm]. 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 noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 59619, 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]. Totem is at rank #42,185, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈtoːtɛm].
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 59619, this pair ranks #817,729 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of täte vs Totem
Shared letters: et. Private to "täte": ä. Private to "Totem": mo.
"täte" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "Totem" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- Totem ← ottem · toetm · totemm · totme · tottem · ttoem · ttotem
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "täte" for "Totem" ever safe?
Frequency check: "täte" vs "Totem" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "täte" and "Totem" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "täte" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Totem" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #817,729 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "täte" and "Totem" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "tollem vs Totem". 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 #817,729 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.