TokvstugConfusable pair

Quick tell: Tok is a name, tug is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“Tok” is a name and “tug” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#33,061
“Tok” frequency rank
#15,079
“tug” frequency rank
48140
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Tok tug
Definition A surname from Khmer. To pull or drag with great effort.

Letter map: Tok vs tug

Shared letters muted; letters that set Tok and tug apart highlighted. Shared run: 1.

3 ch
Tok
3 ch
tug

Role in the sentence - Tok and tug

Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: Tok is aname and tugaverb. On the page they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 48140, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Tok is recorded at frequency rank #33,061, classified as aname. tug is at rank #15,079, tagged as averb, pronounced /tʌɡ/.

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 48140, this pair ranks #195,880 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Tok vs tug

Shared letters: t. Private to "Tok": ko. Private to "tug": gu.

"Tok" · 3 letters · shape CVC  ·  "tug" · 3 letters · shape CVC

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Tok" and "tug" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "Tok" is a name and "tug" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "Tok" or "tug"?
"tug" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #15,079 in our English list, against #33,061 for "Tok". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Pair "Tok" vs "tug" is on the table, pick a follow-up below.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Tok" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "tug" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #195,880 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Tok" and "tug" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Taf vs Tok". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #195,880 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list