TollenvstoppenWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#2,926
“Tollen” frequency rank
#24,545
“toppen” frequency rank
27471
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Tollen toppen
Definition Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Tolle mithilfe von Destillation Benzin von Erdöl scheiden

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set Tollen and toppen apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
Tollen
6 ch
toppen

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Tollen is [ˈtɔlən] while toppen is [ˈtɔpn̩]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 27471, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Tollen is recorded at frequency rank #2,926, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈtɔlən]. toppen is at rank #24,545, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈtɔpn̩].

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 27471, this pair ranks #1,801,274 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Tollen vs toppen

Shared letters: enot. Private to "Tollen": l. Private to "toppen": p.

"Tollen" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC  ·  "toppen" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Tollenotllen · tlolen · toleln · tolen · tollenn · tollne · ttollen
  • toppenotppen · topen · topepn · toppenn · toppne · tpopen · ttoppen

Frequency comparison

Tollen#2,926
toppen#24,545

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Tollen" and "toppen" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "Tollen" is a noun and "toppen" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "Tollen" or "toppen"?
"Tollen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,926 in our German list, against #24,545 for "toppen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering Tollen vs toppen

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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