tough

[taf]

/[taf]/ adj

The verdict

“tough” has 7 generated spelling variants in the German index at frequency #43,540. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#43,540
frequency rank, German
2,684
“T” headwords
7
tracked misspellings
12
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - robust, widerstandsfähig

Corpus desk

Index DE-tough · tough · German

tough · rank #43,540 · 7 variants · 12 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #43,540
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 12 pairs
  • VAR-MID 7 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,684
  • PHOTO-FINISH Torben

Nearest frequency peer: Torben (-1 rank slots)

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rang-Peers am Tippfehler-Magneten „tough“

Gleiche Seltenheitsbandbreite: nützlich, wenn ein Tippfehler auf ein Peer-Lemma trifft

corpus weight

What this shows „tough“ sitzt unter diesen FrequencyWords-Peers; die Tippfehlertiefe steht separat im Edit-Distance-Chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

tough vs Tour
40% similar
tough vs trug
60% similar
tough vs Tuch
40% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for tough
PropertyValue
Headwordtough
LanguageGerman
Part of speechAdjective
IPA[taf]
Letters5
Frequency rank#43,540
Misspellings tracked7
Confusable pairs12
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Häufigkeitslage von Tippfehler-Magnet „tough“

Diese Skala geht vom Kern des Alltagdeutschen (links) bis zum seltenen Langschwanz (rechts).toughliegt hier neben dem Tippfehler-Druck:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Die Skala ist logarithmisch (jeder Tick ≈ 10× seltener). Peers derselben Seltenheitsbandbreite: „Torben“ (#43,539), „trader“ (#43,541), „Transkription“ (#43,542). Unter 2,684 „T“-Lemmata liegt „tough“ bei #43,540. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 7 spelling variants around tough (IPA [taf]), anadjective. Corpus frequency is #43,540 among 2,684 “T” headwords. Dominant gloss: "robust, widerstandsfähig".

Our generated misspelling index lists 7 likely wrong-spelling variants for tough, with forms such as "otugh", "toguh", and "touggh". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 12 confusable-pair relationships, "Tour", "trug", "Tuch", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

No documented word history exists for this headword, so its spelling is best read as a straightforward mapping from sound to letter. The correct German form is tough, spelled T-O-U-G-H.

Definition

  1. 1
    robust, widerstandsfähig

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • otugh
  • toguh
  • touggh
  • toughh
  • touhg
  • ttough
  • tuogh

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of tough - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

otugh2toguh2touggh1toughh1touhg2ttough1tuogh2
Edit distance from "tough"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 German corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "tough"?
"tough" is spelled T-O-U-G-H. The IPA pronunciation is [taf].
What does "tough" mean?
As an adjective, "tough" means: robust, widerstandsfähig
What words are commonly confused with "tough"?
"tough" is commonly confused with "Tour", "trug", "Tuch". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "tough"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "tough" is [taf]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "tough" come from?
"tough" is a German word. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for this and other words across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German on PlainSpell.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar German words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "tough", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked German headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (7 here; floor ≥5).

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list