Which to use
“tones” and “tongues” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #10,297
- “tones” frequency rank
- #16,150
- “tongues” frequency rank
- 26447
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | tones | tongues |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | plural of tone | plural of tongue |
Where the eye mixes tones and tongues
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. tones runs 5 letters (CVCVC) against tongues's 7 (CVCCVVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between tones and tongues
A purely visual mix-up. tones (/təʊnz/) and tongues (/tʌŋz/) 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 26447, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
tones is recorded at frequency rank #10,297, classified as anoun, pronounced /təʊnz/. tongues is at rank #16,150, tagged as anoun, pronounced /tʌŋz/.
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 26447, this pair ranks #386,634 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of tones vs tongues
Shared letters: enost. Private to "tones": -. Private to "tongues": gu.
"tones" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC · "tongues" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "tones" for "tongues" ever safe?
Which is more common, "tones" or "tongues"?
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 "tones" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "tongues" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #386,634 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "tones" and "tongues" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "tongued vs tongues". 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 #386,634 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.