TogovstoughWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: Togo is a name, tough is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“Togo” is a name and “tough” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#36,063
“Togo” frequency rank
#43,540
“tough” frequency rank
79603
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Togo tough
Definition Land in Westafrika robust, widerstandsfähig

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set Togo and tough apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch
Togo
5 ch
tough

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Togo is [ˈtoːɡo] while tough is [taf]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (name vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 79603, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Togo is recorded at frequency rank #36,063, classified as aname, pronounced [ˈtoːɡo]. tough is at rank #43,540, tagged as anadj, pronounced [taf].

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 79603, this pair ranks #213,034 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of Togo vs tough

Shared letters: got. Private to "Togo": -. Private to "tough": hu.

"Togo" · 4 letters · shape CVCV  ·  "tough" · 5 letters · shape CVVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Togootgo · tgoo · toggo · toog · ttogo
  • toughotugh · toguh · touggh · toughh · touhg · ttough · tuogh

Frequency comparison

Togo#36,063
tough#43,540

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Togo" and "tough" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "Togo" is a name and "tough" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "Togo" or "tough"?
"Togo" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #36,063 in our German list, against #43,540 for "tough". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering Togo vs tough

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a name, it's “Togo”; for an adjective, it's “tough”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “Togo” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list