Which to use
“toll” is an adjective and “tools” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #785
- “toll” frequency rank
- #12,399
- “tools” frequency rank
- 13184
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | toll | tools |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | einfältig bis verrückt | 3. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs tool |
Letter map: toll vs tools
Shared letters muted; letters that set toll and tools apart highlighted. Shared run: 3. toll runs 4 letters (CVCC) against tools's 5 (CVVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Grammar separator: toll vs tools
Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: toll is anadjective and toolsaverb. On the page they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 13184, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
toll is recorded at frequency rank #785, classified as anadj, pronounced [tɔl]. tools is at rank #12,399, 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 13184, this pair ranks #1,959,589 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of toll vs tools
Shared letters: lot. Private to "toll": -. Private to "tools": s.
"toll" · 4 letters · shape CVCC · "tools" · 5 letters · shape CVVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "toll" and "tools" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "toll" or "tools"?
After this comparison
Done with this confusable. These links stay specific to "toll" and "tools".
- Full dictionary entry for "toll" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "tools" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,959,589 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "toll" and "tools" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "puzzles vs tools". 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 #1,959,589 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.