TodesvsTonsWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#5,432
“Todes” frequency rank
#48,547
“Tons” frequency rank
53979
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Todes Tons
Definition Genitiv Singular des Substantivs Tod Genitiv Singular des Substantivs Ton

Where the eye mixes Todes and Tons

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.

5 ch
Todes
4 ch
Tons

Visual trap between Todes and Tons

A purely visual mix-up. Todes ([ˈtoːdəs]) and Tons ([toːns]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 53979, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Todes is recorded at frequency rank #5,432, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈtoːdəs]. Tons is at rank #48,547, tagged as anoun, pronounced [toːns].

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 53979, this pair ranks #1,036,800 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Todes vs Tons

Shared letters: ost. Private to "Todes": de. Private to "Tons": n.

"Todes" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC  ·  "Tons" · 4 letters · shape CVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Todesotdes · tdoes · toddes · todess · todse · toeds · ttodes
  • Tonsotns · tnos · tonns · tonss · tosn · ttons

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Todes" and "Tons" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈtoːdəs] versus [toːns]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "Todes" vs "Tons" - which ranks higher?
"Todes" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,432 in our German list, against #48,547 for "Tons". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Eye-level mix-up between "Todes" and "Tons" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Todes" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Tons" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,036,800 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Todes" and "Tons" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "tine 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 #1,036,800 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