Which to use
“taut” and “tun” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #49,293
- “taut” frequency rank
- #245
- “tun” frequency rank
- 49538
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | taut | tun |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 3. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs tauen | eine Handlung ausführen |
Where the eye mixes taut and tun
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between taut and tun
A purely visual mix-up. taut ([taʊ̯t]) and tun ([tuːn]) 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 49538, 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]. tun is at rank #245, tagged as averb, pronounced [tuːn].
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 49538, this pair ranks #1,207,746 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of taut vs tun
Shared letters: tu. Private to "taut": a. Private to "tun": n.
"taut" · 4 letters · shape CVVC · "tun" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- taut ← atut · tatu · tautt · ttaut · tuat
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "taut" and "tun" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary German text, does "taut" or "tun" show up more?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "taut" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "tun" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,207,746 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "taut" and "tun" 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 #1,207,746 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.