Which to use
“true” is an adjective and “tub” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #393
- “true” frequency rank
- #8,998
- “tub” frequency rank
- 9391
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | true | tub |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Conforming to the actual state of reality or fact; factually correct. | 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 true and tub
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: true vs tub
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: true is /tɹuː/ while tub is /tʌb/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 9391, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
true is recorded at frequency rank #393, classified as anadj, pronounced /tɹuː/. 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 9391, this pair ranks #497,627 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of true vs tub
Shared letters: tu. Private to "true": er. Private to "tub": b.
"true" · 4 letters · shape CCVV · "tub" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- true ← rtue · treu · trrue · ttrue · ture
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "true" and "tub" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary English text, does "true" or "tub" show up more?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "true" 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 #497,627 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "true" and "tub" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "tub vs tuft". 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 #497,627 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.