Which to use
“Tons” is a noun and “tun” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #48,547
- “Tons” frequency rank
- #245
- “tun” frequency rank
- 48792
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Tons | tun |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Genitiv Singular des Substantivs Ton | eine Handlung ausführen |
Where the eye mixes Tons and tun
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between Tons and tun
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Tons is [toːns] while tun is [tuːn]. 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 verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 48792, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Tons is recorded at frequency rank #48,547, classified as anoun, pronounced [toːns]. tun is at rank #245, tagged as averb, pronounced [tuːn].
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 48792, this pair ranks #1,235,471 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of Tons vs tun
Shared letters: nt. Private to "Tons": os. Private to "tun": u.
"Tons" · 4 letters · shape CVCC · "tun" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- Tons ← otns · tnos · tonns · tonss · tosn · ttons
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "Tons" for "tun" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "Tons" or "tun" show up more?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "Tons" and "tun" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "Tons" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "tun" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,235,471 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Tons" and "tun" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "tine vs Tons". 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 #1,235,471 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.