Which to use
“tell” and “told” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #14,428
- “tell” frequency rank
- #44,284
- “told” frequency rank
- 58712
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | tell | told |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | erzählen | Präteritum (simple past) des Verbs tell |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set tell and told apart are highlighted. They share 2 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
tell and told form a confusable pair in the German index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 58712, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
tell is recorded at frequency rank #14,428, classified as averb, pronounced [tɛl]. told is at rank #44,284, tagged as averb, pronounced [təʊld].
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 58712, this pair ranks #852,158 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "tell" and "told" be used interchangeably?
Remembering tell vs told
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 “tell” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable