Which to use
“tes” is a noun and “totes” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #44,969
- “tes” frequency rank
- #26,196
- “totes” frequency rank
- 71165
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | tes | totes |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Plural des Substantivs te | Nominativ Singular Neutrum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs tot |
Where the eye mixes tes and totes
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: tes vs totes
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: tes is [tɛs] while totes is [ˈtoːtəs]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “tes” sits inside “totes”, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 71165, 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]. totes is at rank #26,196, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈtoːtəs].
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 71165, this pair ranks #424,692 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of tes vs totes
Shared letters: est. Private to "tes": -. Private to "totes": o.
"tes" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "totes" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- totes ← ottes · toets · totess · totse · tottes · ttoes · ttotes
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "tes" for "totes" ever safe?
Which is more common, "tes" or "totes"?
After this comparison
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 "totes" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #424,692 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "tes" and "totes" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "tes vs trees". 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 #424,692 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.