tockvstogaWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“tock” and “toga” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#39,613
“tock” frequency rank
#40,479
“toga” frequency rank
80092
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature tock toga
Definition A clicking sound similar to one made by the hands of a clock. A loose outer garment worn by the citizens of Ancient Rome.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set tock and toga apart are highlighted. They share 2 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch
tock
4 ch
toga

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. tock (/tɑk/) and toga (/ˈtəʊ.ɡə/) 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 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 80092, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

tock is recorded at frequency rank #39,613, classified as anoun, pronounced /tɑk/. toga is at rank #40,479, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈtəʊ.ɡə/.

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 80092, this pair ranks #20,582 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of tock vs toga

Shared letters: ot. Private to "tock": ck. Private to "toga": ag.

"tock" · 4 letters · shape CVCC  ·  "toga" · 4 letters · shape CVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • tockotck · tcok · tocck · tockk · tokc · ttock
  • togaotga · tgoa · toag · togga · ttoga

Frequency comparison

tock#39,613
toga#40,479

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "tock" and "toga" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (/tɑk/ versus /ˈtəʊ.ɡə/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "tock" or "toga"?
"tock" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #39,613 in our English list, against #40,479 for "toga". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering tock vs toga

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “tock” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list