tollvstooWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: toll is a adjective, too is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

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

#785
“toll” frequency rank
#11,548
“too” frequency rank
12333
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature toll too
Definition einfältig bis verrückt 2. Person Singular Präsens Imperativ des Verbs tooma

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set toll and too apart are highlighted. They share 2 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch
toll
3 ch
too

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

toll and too form a confusable pair in the German index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They differ by 1 letter(s) in length - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 12333, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

toll is recorded at frequency rank #785, classified as anadj, pronounced [tɔl]. too is at rank #11,548, tagged as averb, pronounced […].

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 12333, this pair ranks #1,964,794 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Frequency comparison

toll#785
too#11,548

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "toll" and "too" be used interchangeably?
No, "toll" and "too" have distinct meanings and cannot be swapped without changing the meaning of a sentence. Understanding the specific definition and context for each word is essential for correct usage.

Remembering toll vs too

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “toll”; for a verb, it's “too”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “toll” 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