TodevsTöneConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#3,282
“Tode” frequency rank
#6,865
“Töne” frequency rank
10147
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Tode Töne
Definition Variante für den Dativ Singular des Substantivs Tod Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Ton

Where the eye mixes Tode and Töne

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence. Tode and Töne follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCV). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

4 ch
Tode
4 ch
Töne

Visual trap between Tode and Töne

A purely visual mix-up. Tode ([ˈtoːdə]) and Töne ([ˈtøːnə]) 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 10147, 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]. Töne is at rank #6,865, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈtøːnə].

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 10147, this pair ranks #1,976,564 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Tode vs Töne

Shared letters: et. Private to "Tode": do. Private to "Töne": .

"Tode" · 4 letters · shape CVCV  ·  "Töne" · 4 letters · shape CVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Todeotde · tdoe · todde · toed · ttode

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Tode" and "Töne" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈtoːdə] versus [ˈtøːnə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary German text, does "Tode" or "Töne" show up more?
"Tode" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,282 in our German list, against #6,865 for "Töne". 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 "Töne" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,976,564 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Tode" and "Töne" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "tine vs Töne". 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 #1,976,564 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