TotevstöteteWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#2,691
“Tote” frequency rank
#16,021
“tötete” frequency rank
18712
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Tote tötete
Definition weibliche Person, die nicht mehr am Leben, sondern verstorben ist 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs töten

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set Tote and tötete apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch
Tote
6 ch
tötete

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Tote is [ˈtoːtə] while tötete is [ˈtøːtətə]. 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 18712, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Tote is recorded at frequency rank #2,691, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈtoːtə]. tötete is at rank #16,021, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈtøːtətə].

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 18712, this pair ranks #1,915,630 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Tote vs tötete

Shared letters: et. Private to "Tote": o. Private to "tötete": ö.

"Tote" · 4 letters · shape CVCV  ·  "tötete" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Totetoet · totte · ttoe · ttote

Frequency comparison

Tote#2,691
tötete#16,021

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Tote" and "tötete" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "Tote" is a noun and "tötete" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "Tote" or "tötete"?
"Tote" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,691 in our German list, against #16,021 for "tötete". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering Tote vs tötete

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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