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 eye mixes taut and tobt
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence. taut (CVVC) and tobt (CVCC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Why the eye confuses taut with tobt
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
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "taut" for "tobt" ever safe?
Which is more common, "taut" or "tobt"?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "taut" and "tobt" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "taut" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "tobt" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #478,363 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "taut" and "tobt" 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 #478,363 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.