# told vs tong

> English confusable word pair

## The two words

### told
*verb · IPA /təʊld/ · frequency rank #268*
simple past and past participle of tell

### tong
*noun · IPA /tɒŋ/ · frequency rank #21,681*
An instrument or tool used for manipulating things in a fire without touching them with the hands.

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/vs/told-vs-tong