TölzvsTöneWhich spelling fits?

Quick tell: Tölz is a name, Töne is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“Tölz” is a name and “Töne” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#23,337
“Tölz” frequency rank
#6,865
“Töne” frequency rank
30202
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Tölz Töne
Definition Bad Tölz; eine Stadt in Bayern, Deutschland Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Ton

Where the eye mixes Tölz and Töne

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence. Tölz (CVCC) and Töne (CVCV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.

4 ch
Tölz
4 ch
Töne

Look-alike desk: Tölz vs Töne

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Tölz is [ˈtœlt͡s] while Töne is [ˈtøːnə]. 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 (name vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 30202, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Tölz is recorded at frequency rank #23,337, classified as aname, pronounced [ˈtœlt͡s]. Töne is at rank #6,865, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈtøːnə].

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 30202, this pair ranks #1,752,440 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Tölz vs Töne

Shared letters: tö. Private to "Tölz": lz. Private to "Töne": en.

"Tölz" · 4 letters · shape CVCC  ·  "Töne" · 4 letters · shape CVCV

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "Tölz" and "Töne" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "Tölz" is a name and "Töne" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "Tölz" or "Töne"?
"Töne" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #6,865 in our German list, against #23,337 for "Tölz". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Tölz" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Töne" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,752,440 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Tölz" and "Töne" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Tölz vs Tons". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #1,752,440 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