TomatenvstötenWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#7,826
“Tomaten” frequency rank
#3,083
“töten” frequency rank
10909
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Tomaten töten
Definition Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Tomate einem Menschen oder einem Tier gewaltsam das Leben nehmen

Where the spellings diverge

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

7 ch
Tomaten
5 ch
töten

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Tomaten is [toˈmaːtn̩] while töten is [ˈtøːtn̩]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 10909, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Tomaten is recorded at frequency rank #7,826, classified as anoun, pronounced [toˈmaːtn̩]. töten is at rank #3,083, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈtøːtn̩].

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 10909, this pair ranks #1,972,682 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Tomaten vs töten

Shared letters: ent. Private to "Tomaten": amo. Private to "töten": ö.

"Tomaten" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC  ·  "töten" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Tomatenotmaten · tmoaten · toamten · tomaetn · tomatenn · tomatne · tomatten · tommaten

Frequency comparison

Tomaten#7,826
töten#3,083

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Tomaten" and "töten" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "Tomaten" is a noun and "töten" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "Tomaten" or "töten"?
"töten" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,083 in our German list, against #7,826 for "Tomaten". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering Tomaten vs töten

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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