TollevstrollenWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: Tolle is a noun, trollen is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“Tolle” is a noun and “trollen” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#1,338
“Tolle” frequency rank
#28,887
“trollen” frequency rank
30225
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Tolle trollen
Definition Frisur, bei der der lange vordere Haarschopf wellenartig nach oben gekämmt oder geföhnt wird sich (meist in eher unerfreuter Stimmung) von einem Ort entfernen, weggehen, sich wegbegeben

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set Tolle and trollen apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
Tolle
7 ch
trollen

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Tolle is [ˈtɔlə] while trollen is [ˈtʁɔlən]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 30225, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Tolle is recorded at frequency rank #1,338, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈtɔlə]. trollen is at rank #28,887, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈtʁɔlən].

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 30225, this pair ranks #1,752,008 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Tolle vs trollen

Shared letters: elot. Private to "Tolle": -. Private to "trollen": nr.

"Tolle" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV  ·  "trollen" · 7 letters · shape CCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Tolleotlle · tlole · tole · tolel · ttolle
  • trollenrtollen · torllen · trlolen · troleln · trolen · trollenn · trollne · trrollen

Frequency comparison

Tolle#1,338
trollen#28,887

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Tolle" and "trollen" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "Tolle" is a noun and "trollen" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "Tolle" or "trollen"?
"Tolle" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,338 in our German list, against #28,887 for "trollen". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering Tolle vs trollen

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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