Which to use
“tun” and “tye” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #30,265
- “tun” frequency rank
- #40,491
- “tye” frequency rank
- 70756
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | tun | tye |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | A large cask; an oblong vessel bulging in the middle, like a pipe or puncheon, and girt with hoops; a wine cask. (See a diagram comparing cask sizes.) | Obsolete form of tie. |
Letter map: tun vs tye
Shared letters muted; letters that set tun and tye apart highlighted. Shared run: 1.
Pair insight - tun / tye
tun and tye are indexed as a confusable English pair. We have no recorded pronunciation or part of speech for both members, so the spelling overlap is what we can show you: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 70756, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
tun is recorded at frequency rank #30,265, classified as anoun, pronounced /tʌn/. tye is at rank #40,491, tagged as anoun.
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 70756, this pair ranks #49,271 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of tun vs tye
Shared letters: t. Private to "tun": nu. Private to "tye": ey.
"tun" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "tye" · 3 letters · shape CVV
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "tun" for "tye" ever safe?
Frequency check: "tun" vs "tye" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Done with this confusable. These links stay specific to "tun" and "tye".
- Full dictionary entry for "tun" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "tye" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #49,271 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "tun" and "tye" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Taf vs tye". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #49,271 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.