Which to use
“tool” and “Tour” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #10,189
- “tool” frequency rank
- #1,574
- “Tour” frequency rank
- 11763
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | tool | Tour |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Werkzeug | Reise, Weg oder Bewegung mit in der Regel identischem Ausgangs- und Zielort |
Where the eye mixes tool and Tour
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence. tool and Tour follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Why the eye confuses tool with Tour
A purely visual mix-up. tool ([tuːl]) and Tour ([tuːɐ̯]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 11763, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
tool is recorded at frequency rank #10,189, classified as anoun, pronounced [tuːl]. Tour is at rank #1,574, tagged as anoun, pronounced [tuːɐ̯].
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 11763, this pair ranks #1,968,043 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of tool vs Tour
Shared letters: ot. Private to "tool": l. Private to "Tour": ru.
"tool" · 4 letters · shape CVVC · "Tour" · 4 letters · shape CVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "tool" for "Tour" ever safe?
Which is more common, "tool" or "Tour"?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "tool" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Tour" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,968,043 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "tool" and "Tour" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Tons vs tool". 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 #1,968,043 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.