TodevstollConfusable pair

Quick tell: Tode is a noun, toll is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“Tode” is a noun and “toll” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#3,282
“Tode” frequency rank
#785
“toll” frequency rank
4067
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Tode toll
Definition Variante für den Dativ Singular des Substantivs Tod einfältig bis verrückt

Where the eye mixes Tode and toll

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.

4 ch
Tode
4 ch
toll

Why the eye confuses Tode with toll

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Tode is [ˈtoːdə] while toll is [tɔl]. 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 4067, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Tode is recorded at frequency rank #3,282, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈtoːdə]. toll is at rank #785, tagged as anadj, pronounced [tɔl].

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 4067, this pair ranks #1,998,666 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Tode vs toll

Shared letters: ot. Private to "Tode": de. Private to "toll": l.

"Tode" · 4 letters · shape CVCV  ·  "toll" · 4 letters · shape CVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Todeotde · tdoe · todde · toed · ttode
  • tollotll · tlol · tol · ttoll

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "Tode" and "toll" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "Tode" is a noun and "toll" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "Tode" or "toll"?
"toll" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #785 in our German list, against #3,282 for "Tode". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

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 "Tode" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "toll" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,998,666 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Tode" and "toll" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "tine vs Tode". 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 #1,998,666 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