trunkvsTunsTell them apart

Which to use

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

#39,074
“trunk” frequency rank
#44,983
“Tuns” frequency rank
84057
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature trunk Tuns
Definition aufrechtstehender Teil eines Baums zwischen den Wurzeln und den Ästen Genitiv Singular des Substantivs Tun

Where the eye mixes trunk and Tuns

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.

5 ch
trunk
4 ch
Tuns

Why the eye confuses trunk with Tuns

A purely visual mix-up. trunk ([tɹʌŋk]) and Tuns ([tuːns]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 84057, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

trunk is recorded at frequency rank #39,074, classified as anoun, pronounced [tɹʌŋk]. Tuns is at rank #44,983, tagged as anoun, pronounced [tuːns].

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 84057, this pair ranks #129,799 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of trunk vs Tuns

Shared letters: ntu. Private to "trunk": kr. Private to "Tuns": s.

"trunk" · 5 letters · shape CCVCC  ·  "Tuns" · 4 letters · shape CVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • trunkrtunk · trnuk · trrunk · trukn · trunkk · trunnk · ttrunk · turnk
  • Tunstnus · ttuns · tunns · tunss · tusn · utns

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "trunk" and "Tuns" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([tɹʌŋk] versus [tuːns]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "trunk" vs "Tuns" - which ranks higher?
"trunk" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #39,074 in our German list, against #44,983 for "Tuns". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "trunk" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Tuns" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #129,799 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "trunk" and "Tuns" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "tine vs Tuns". 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 #129,799 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