toovstubWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: too is a adverb, tub is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“too” is an adverb and “tub” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#121
“too” frequency rank
#8,998
“tub” frequency rank
9119
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature too tub
Definition Likewise. A flat-bottomed vessel, of width similar to or greater than its height, used for storing or packing things, or for washing things in.

Where the eye mixes too and tub

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.

3 ch
too
3 ch
tub

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: too is /tuː/ while tub is /tʌb/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (adverb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 9119, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

too is recorded at frequency rank #121, classified as anadv, pronounced /tuː/. tub is at rank #8,998, tagged as anoun, pronounced /tʌb/.

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 9119, this pair ranks #498,993 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of too vs tub

Shared letters: t. Private to "too": o. Private to "tub": bu.

"too" · 3 letters · shape CVV  ·  "tub" · 3 letters · shape CVC

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "too" and "tub" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "too" is an adverb and "tub" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "too" or "tub"?
"too" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #121 in our English list, against #8,998 for "tub". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

What to do next

You've compared "too" and "tub". Here's where to go from here.

  • Full dictionary entry for "too" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "tub" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #498,993 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "too" and "tub" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "tub vs tuft". Nearby pair

PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list