Which to use
“TKO” and “Tokyo” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #41,429
- “TKO” frequency rank
- #4,558
- “Tokyo” frequency rank
- 45987
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | TKO | Tokyo |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Initialism of Tseung Kwan O. | A prefecture and capital city of Japan. |
Where the eye mixes TKO and Tokyo
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between TKO and Tokyo
A purely visual mix-up. TKO (/ˈtiː ˈkeɪ ˈəʊ/) and Tokyo (/ˈtoʊ.ki.oʊ/) 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 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 45987, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
TKO is recorded at frequency rank #41,429, classified as aname, pronounced /ˈtiː ˈkeɪ ˈəʊ/. Tokyo is at rank #4,558, tagged as aname, pronounced /ˈtoʊ.ki.oʊ/.
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 45987, this pair ranks #216,069 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of TKO vs Tokyo
Shared letters: kot. Private to "TKO": -. Private to "Tokyo": y.
"TKO" · 3 letters · shape CCV · "Tokyo" · 5 letters · shape CVCVV
Known mistypes of this pair
- Tokyo ← otkyo · tkoyo · tokkyo · tokoy · tokyyo · toyko · ttokyo
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "TKO" for "Tokyo" ever safe?
In ordinary English text, does "TKO" or "Tokyo" show up more?
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 "TKO" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Tokyo" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #216,069 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "TKO" and "Tokyo" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Taf vs TKO". 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 #216,069 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.