Which to use
“time” is a verb and “Toms” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #3,492
- “time” frequency rank
- #41,507
- “Toms” frequency rank
- 44999
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | time | Toms |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs timen | Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Tom |
Where the eye mixes time and Toms
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: time vs Toms
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: time is [ˈtaɪ̯mə] while Toms is [tɔms]. 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 (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 44999, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
time is recorded at frequency rank #3,492, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈtaɪ̯mə]. Toms is at rank #41,507, tagged as anoun, pronounced [tɔms].
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 44999, this pair ranks #1,367,800 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of time vs Toms
Shared letters: mt. Private to "time": ei. Private to "Toms": os.
"time" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "Toms" · 4 letters · shape CVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "time" for "Toms" ever safe?
Which is more common, "time" or "Toms"?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "time" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Toms" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,367,800 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "time" and "Toms" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Toms vs Tons". 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 #1,367,800 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.