Which to use
“Ton” and “Tonne” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #2,180
- “Ton” frequency rank
- #9,468
- “Tonne” frequency rank
- 11648
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Ton | Tonne |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | feinkörniges Verwitterungsprodukt, Bodenart, Töpfermaterial, Baustoff/Werkstoff | rundes Behältnis, oft aus Metall bestehend, mit Deckel und/oder Spundloch |
Where the eye mixes Ton and Tonne
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: Ton vs Tonne
A purely visual mix-up. Ton ([toːn]) and Tonne ([ˈtɔnə]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “Ton” sits inside “Tonne”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 11648, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Ton is recorded at frequency rank #2,180, classified as anoun, pronounced [toːn]. Tonne is at rank #9,468, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈtɔnə].
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 11648, this pair ranks #1,968,691 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of Ton vs Tonne
Shared letters: not. Private to "Ton": -. Private to "Tonne": e.
"Ton" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "Tonne" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- Tonne ← otnne · tnone · tone · ttonne
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "Ton" and "Tonne" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary German text, does "Ton" or "Tonne" show up more?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "Ton" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Tonne" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,968,691 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Ton" and "Tonne" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "tine vs Tonne". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #1,968,691 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.