tautvstobtWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#49,293
“taut” frequency rank
#20,089
“tobt” frequency rank
69382
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature taut tobt
Definition 3. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs tauen 2. Person Plural Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs toben

Where the spellings diverge

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

4 ch
taut
4 ch
tobt

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. taut ([taʊ̯t]) and tobt ([toːpt]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 69382, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

taut is recorded at frequency rank #49,293, classified as averb, pronounced [taʊ̯t]. tobt is at rank #20,089, tagged as averb, pronounced [toːpt].

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 69382, this pair ranks #478,363 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of taut vs tobt

Shared letters: t. Private to "taut": au. Private to "tobt": bo.

"taut" · 4 letters · shape CVVC  ·  "tobt" · 4 letters · shape CVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • tautatut · tatu · tautt · ttaut · tuat
  • tobtotbt · tbot · tobbt · tobtt · totb · ttobt

Frequency comparison

taut#49,293
tobt#20,089

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "taut" and "tobt" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([taʊ̯t] versus [toːpt]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "taut" or "tobt"?
"tobt" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #20,089 in our German list, against #49,293 for "taut". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering taut vs tobt

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “taut” 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