Tölz vs trotz, What's the Difference?

Which to use

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

#23,337
“Tölz” frequency rank: #624
“trotz” frequency rank: 23961
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	Tölz	trotz
Definition	Bad Tölz; eine Stadt in Bayern, Deutschland	ungeachtet eines bestimmten Umstandes; ohne Rücksicht auf etwas; einer Sache zum Trotz

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set Tölz and trotz apart are highlighted. They share 2 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch

Tölz

5 ch

trotz

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Tölz is [ˈtœlt͡s] while trotz is [tʁɔt͡s]. 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 (name vs preposition), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 23961, 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]. trotz is at rank #624, tagged as aprep, pronounced [tʁɔt͡s].

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 23961, this pair ranks #1,854,177 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Tölz vs trotz

Shared letters: tz. Private to "Tölz": lö. Private to "trotz": or.

"Tölz" · 4 letters · shape CVCC · "trotz" · 5 letters · shape CCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

trotz ← rtotz · tortz · trottz · trotzz · trozt · trrotz · trtoz · ttrotz

Frequency comparison

Tölz#23,337

trotz#624

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Tölz" and "trotz" be used interchangeably?

No - they are not even the same part of speech. "Tölz" is a name and "trotz" a preposition, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.

Which is more common, "Tölz" or "trotz"?

"trotz" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #624 in our German list, against #23,337 for "Tölz". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering Tölz vs trotz

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

Check the role first: if you need a name, it's “Tölz”; for a preposition, it's “trotz”.
See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “Tölz” entry
Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable