tollemvstollesConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#44,973
“tollem” frequency rank
#3,622
“tolles” frequency rank
48595
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature tollem tolles
Definition Dativ Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs toll Nominativ Singular Neutrum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs toll

Where the eye mixes tollem and tolles

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. tollem and tolles follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

6 ch
tollem
6 ch
tolles

Why the eye confuses tollem with tolles

A purely visual mix-up. tollem ([ˈtɔləm]) and tolles ([ˈtɔləs]) 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 a single letter - m in “tollem” becomes s in “tolles”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 48595, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

tollem is recorded at frequency rank #44,973, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈtɔləm]. tolles is at rank #3,622, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈtɔləs].

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 48595, this pair ranks #1,242,704 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of tollem vs tolles

Shared letters: elot. Private to "tollem": m. Private to "tolles": s.

"tollem" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC  ·  "tolles" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • tollemotllem · tlolem · tolelm · tolem · tollemm · tollme · ttollem
  • tollesotlles · tloles · tolels · toles · tolless · tollse · ttolles

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "tollem" and "tolles" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈtɔləm] versus [ˈtɔləs]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "tollem" vs "tolles" - which ranks higher?
"tolles" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,622 in our German list, against #44,973 for "tollem". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

After this comparison

Eye-level mix-up between "tollem" and "tolles" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "tollem" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "tolles" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,242,704 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "tollem" and "tolles" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "tollem vs Totem". 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 #1,242,704 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list