tollvstotWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#785
“toll” frequency rank
#1,525
“tot” frequency rank
2310
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature toll tot
Definition einfältig bis verrückt nicht (mehr) lebend

Where the eye mixes toll and tot

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.

4 ch
toll
3 ch
tot

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. toll ([tɔl]) and tot ([toːt]) 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 2310, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

toll is recorded at frequency rank #785, classified as anadj, pronounced [tɔl]. tot is at rank #1,525, tagged as anadj, pronounced [toːt].

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 2310, this pair ranks #2,002,643 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of toll vs tot

Shared letters: ot. Private to "toll": l. Private to "tot": -.

"toll" · 4 letters · shape CVCC  ·  "tot" · 3 letters · shape CVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • tollotll · tlol · tol · ttoll

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "toll" and "tot" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([tɔl] versus [toːt]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "toll" or "tot"?
"toll" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #785 in our German list, against #1,525 for "tot". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

You've compared "toll" and "tot". Here's where to go from here.

  • Full dictionary entry for "toll" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "tot" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #2,002,643 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "toll" and "tot" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "taut vs tot". 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

PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list