TodevstrueWhich spelling fits?

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

Which to use

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

#3,282
“Tode” frequency rank
#9,645
“true” frequency rank
12927
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Tode true
Definition Variante für den Dativ Singular des Substantivs Tod wahr, richtig

Where the eye mixes Tode and true

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence. Tode (CVCV) and true (CCVV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.

4 ch
Tode
4 ch
true

Visual trap between Tode and true

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Tode is [ˈtoːdə] while true is [tɹuː]. 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 12927, 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]. true is at rank #9,645, tagged as anadj, pronounced [tɹuː].

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 12927, this pair ranks #1,961,168 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Tode vs true

Shared letters: et. Private to "Tode": do. Private to "true": ru.

"Tode" · 4 letters · shape CVCV  ·  "true" · 4 letters · shape CCVV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Tode ← otde · tdoe · todde · toed · ttode
  • true ← rtue · trrue · ttrue · ture

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Tode" and "true" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "Tode" is a noun and "true" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "Tode" or "true"?
"Tode" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,282 in our German list, against #9,645 for "true". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Tode" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "true" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,961,168 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Tode" and "true" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "trees vs true". 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 #1,961,168 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