Which to use
“tondre” is a verb and “tonne” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #30,401
- “tondre” frequency rank
- #8,787
- “tonne” frequency rank
- 39188
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | tondre | tonne |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Couper à ras la laine ou le poil des bêtes. | Unité de mesure de masse en dehors du Système international (mais dont l’usage est accepté avec le SI), valant mille kilogrammes, et dont le symbole est t. Aussi appelée tonne métrique. |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set tondre and tonne apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
tondre and tonne form a confusable pair in the French index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They differ by 1 letter(s) in length - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 39188, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
tondre is recorded at frequency rank #30,401, classified as averb, pronounced \tɔ̃dʁ\. tonne is at rank #8,787, 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 39188, this pair ranks #249,837 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "tondre" and "tonne" be used interchangeably?
Remembering tondre vs tonne
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “tondre”; for a noun, it's “tonne”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “tondre” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable