Which to use
“tes” is a noun and “tom” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #44,969
- “tes” frequency rank
- #2,521
- “tom” frequency rank
- 47490
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | tes | tom |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Plural des Substantivs te | ohne Inhalt; leer |
Where the eye mixes tes and tom
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.
Why the eye confuses tes with tom
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: tes is [tɛs] while tom is [tum]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 47490, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
tes is recorded at frequency rank #44,969, classified as anoun, pronounced [tɛs]. tom is at rank #2,521, tagged as anadj, pronounced [tum].
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 47490, this pair ranks #1,282,415 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of tes vs tom
Shared letters: t. Private to "tes": es. Private to "tom": mo.
"tes" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "tom" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "tes" and "tom" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary German text, does "tes" or "tom" show up more?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "tes" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "tom" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,282,415 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "tes" and "tom" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "tes vs trees". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #1,282,415 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.