Which to use
“tomes” and “tonnes” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #11,493
- “tomes” frequency rank
- #2,970
- “tonnes” frequency rank
- 14463
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | tomes | tonnes |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Pluriel de tome. | Pluriel de tonne. |
Where the eye mixes tomes and tonnes
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. tomes runs 5 letters (CVCVC) against tonnes's 6 (CVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: tomes vs tonnes
A purely visual mix-up. tomes (\tɔm\) and tonnes (\tɔn\) 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 14463, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
tomes is recorded at frequency rank #11,493, classified as anoun, pronounced \tɔm\. tonnes is at rank #2,970, tagged as anoun, pronounced \tɔn\.
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 14463, this pair ranks #396,532 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of tomes vs tonnes
Shared letters: eost. Private to "tomes": m. Private to "tonnes": n.
"tomes" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC · "tonnes" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "tomes" and "tonnes" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "tomes" vs "tonnes" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "tomes" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "tonnes" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #396,532 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "tomes" and "tonnes" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "tomes vs trônes". 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 #396,532 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.