TomévstonsWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: Tomé is a name, tons is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“Tomé” is a name and “tons” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#5,443
“Tomé” frequency rank
#42,730
“tons” frequency rank
48173
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Tomé tons
Definition Apellido. Forma del plural de ton.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set Tomé and tons apart are highlighted. They share 2 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch
Tomé
4 ch
tons

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Tomé is [t̪oˈme] while tons is /tʌnz/. 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 (name vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 48173, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Tomé is recorded at frequency rank #5,443, classified as aname, pronounced [t̪oˈme]. tons is at rank #42,730, tagged as anoun, pronounced /tʌnz/.

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 48173, this pair ranks #115,944 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Tomé vs tons

Shared letters: ot. Private to "Tomé": . Private to "tons": ns.

"Tomé" · 4 letters · shape CVCV  ·  "tons" · 4 letters · shape CVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • tonsotns · tnos · tonns · tonss · tosn · ttons

Frequency comparison

Tomé#5,443
tons#42,730

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Tomé" and "tons" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "Tomé" is a name and "tons" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "Tomé" or "tons"?
"Tomé" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,443 in our Spanish list, against #42,730 for "tons". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering Tomé vs tons

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a name, it's “Tomé”; for a noun, it's “tons”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “Tomé” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list