toutvstrübWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

“tout” and “trüb” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#42,186
“tout” frequency rank
#36,672
“trüb” frequency rank
78858
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature tout trüb
Definition all unklar, nicht transparent, stark undurchsichtig, fast nicht mehr durchsichtig

Where the eye mixes tout and trüb

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence. tout (CVVC) and trüb (CCVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.

4 ch
tout
4 ch
trüb

Why the eye confuses tout with trüb

A purely visual mix-up. tout ([tu]) and trüb ([tʁyːp]) 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 3 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 78858, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

tout is recorded at frequency rank #42,186, classified as anadj, pronounced [tu]. trüb is at rank #36,672, tagged as anadj, pronounced [tʁyːp].

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 78858, this pair ranks #229,007 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of tout vs trüb

Shared letters: t. Private to "tout": ou. Private to "trüb": brü.

"tout" · 4 letters · shape CVVC  ·  "trüb" · 4 letters · shape CCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • tout ← otut · totu · toutt · ttout · tuot

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "tout" and "trüb" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([tu] versus [tʁyːp]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "tout" or "trüb"?
"trüb" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #36,672 in our German list, against #42,186 for "tout". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Eye-level mix-up between "tout" and "trüb" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "tout" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "trüb" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #229,007 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "tout" and "trüb" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "taut vs tout". 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 #229,007 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list