TodvsTürTell them apart

Which to use

“Tod” and “Tür” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#609
“Tod” frequency rank
#1,095
“Tür” frequency rank
1704
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Tod Tür
Definition das Ende des Sterbevorgangs trennendes oder verbindendes Element zwischen Räumen und/oder Bereichen; Zugang; Eingang, Ausgang

Where the eye mixes Tod and Tür

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.

3 ch
Tod
3 ch
Tür

Visual trap between Tod and Tür

A purely visual mix-up. Tod ([toːt]) and Tür ([tyːɐ̯]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 1704, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Tod is recorded at frequency rank #609, classified as anoun, pronounced [toːt]. Tür is at rank #1,095, tagged as anoun, pronounced [tyːɐ̯].

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 1704, this pair ranks #2,003,875 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Tod vs Tür

Shared letters: t. Private to "Tod": do. Private to "Tür": .

"Tod" · 3 letters · shape CVC  ·  "Tür" · 3 letters · shape CVC

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "Tod" for "Tür" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([toːt] versus [tyːɐ̯]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary German text, does "Tod" or "Tür" show up more?
"Tod" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #609 in our German list, against #1,095 for "Tür". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

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 "Tod" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Tür" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #2,003,875 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Tod" and "Tür" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "taut vs Tür". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #2,003,875 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list