Which to use
“tom” and “toux” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #2,600
- “tom” frequency rank
- #15,276
- “toux” frequency rank
- 17876
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | tom | toux |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Abréviation courante de tom-tom (instrument de percussion). | Expiration spasmodique et bruyante de l’air, accompagnée d’un mouvement convulsif du larynx et de la trachée-artère. |
Where the eye mixes tom and toux
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between tom and toux
A purely visual mix-up. tom (\tɔm\) and toux (\tu\) 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 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 17876, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
tom is recorded at frequency rank #2,600, classified as anoun, pronounced \tɔm\. toux is at rank #15,276, tagged as anoun, pronounced \tu\.
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 17876, this pair ranks #381,020 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of tom vs toux
Shared letters: ot. Private to "tom": m. Private to "toux": ux.
"tom" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "toux" · 4 letters · shape CVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- toux ← otux · touxx · toxu · ttoux · tuox
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "tom" and "toux" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "tom" vs "toux" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "tom" and "toux" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "tom" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "toux" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #381,020 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "tom" and "toux" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "toux vs tun". 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 #381,020 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.