tollemvstrollenWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#44,973
“tollem” frequency rank
#28,887
“trollen” frequency rank
73860
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature tollem trollen
Definition Dativ Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs toll 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 tollem and trollen apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
tollem
7 ch
trollen

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: tollem is [ˈtɔləm] while trollen is [ˈtʁɔlən]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 73860, 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]. 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 73860, this pair ranks #348,981 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of tollem vs trollen

Shared letters: elot. Private to "tollem": m. Private to "trollen": nr.

"tollem" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC  ·  "trollen" · 7 letters · shape CCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • tollemotllem · tlolem · tolelm · tolem · tollemm · tollme · ttollem
  • trollenrtollen · torllen · trlolen · troleln · trolen · trollenn · trollne · trrollen

Frequency comparison

tollem#44,973
trollen#28,887

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "tollem" and "trollen" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "tollem" is an adjective and "trollen" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "tollem" or "trollen"?
"trollen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #28,887 in our German list, against #44,973 for "tollem". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering tollem vs trollen

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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