Which to use
“tout” is an adjective and “tu” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #42,186
- “tout” frequency rank
- #2,620
- “tu” frequency rank
- 44806
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | tout | tu |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | all | 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs tun |
Same sound, different letters: tout vs tu
Muted letters are shared; highlighted letters are the only spelling cue when pronunciation matches. Shared run: 2 letters.
Homophone desk: tout vs tu
Say them out loud and nothing separates them: tout and tu carry the same recorded pronunciation, [tu]. Grammar is what tells them apart: one is anadjective, the other averb, so most sentences will only accept one of them. They differ by 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 44806, 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]. tu is at rank #2,620, tagged as averb, pronounced [tuː].
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 44806, this pair ranks #1,374,112 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of tout vs tu
Shared letters: tu. Private to "tout": o. Private to "tu": -.
"tout" · 4 letters · shape CVVC · "tu" · 2 letters · shape CV
Known mistypes of this pair
- tout ← otut · totu · toutt · ttout · tuot
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "tout" and "tu" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary German text, does "tout" or "tu" show up more?
What to do next
You've separated the homophone pair "tout" / "tu". Follow the links when you need the full entry or a neighbour that trips the same ear.
- Full dictionary entry for "tout" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "tu" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,374,112 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "tout" and "tu" 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 #1,374,112 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.