TönevstotWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: Töne is a noun, tot is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

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

#6,865
“Töne” frequency rank
#1,525
“tot” frequency rank
8390
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Töne tot
Definition Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Ton nicht (mehr) lebend

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set Töne and tot apart are highlighted. They share 1 letter in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch
Töne
3 ch
tot

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Töne is [ˈtøːnə] while tot is [toːt]. 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 (noun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 8390, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Töne is recorded at frequency rank #6,865, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈtøːnə]. tot is at rank #1,525, tagged as anadj, pronounced [toːt].

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 8390, this pair ranks #1,984,483 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Töne vs tot

Shared letters: t. Private to "Töne": enö. Private to "tot": o.

"Töne" · 4 letters · shape CVCV  ·  "tot" · 3 letters · shape CVC

Frequency comparison

Töne#6,865
tot#1,525

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Töne" and "tot" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "Töne" is a noun and "tot" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "Töne" or "tot"?
"tot" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,525 in our German list, against #6,865 for "Töne". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering Töne vs tot

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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