TotemvsTüteWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

“Totem” and “Tüte” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#42,185
“Totem” frequency rank
#9,471
“Tüte” frequency rank
51656
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Totem Tüte
Definition ein Lebewesen, eine Pflanze oder ein Tier, das als der Urahn, als der heilige Vorfahr angesehen wird (in animistischen Völkern) ursprünglich trichterförmiger Behälter aus Papier, Folie oder Kunststoff

Where the eye mixes Totem and Tüte

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. Totem runs 5 letters (CVCVC) against Tüte's 4 (CVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

5 ch
Totem
4 ch
Tüte

Look-alike desk: Totem vs Tüte

A purely visual mix-up. Totem ([ˈtoːtɛm]) and Tüte ([ˈtyːtə]) 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 51656, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Totem is recorded at frequency rank #42,185, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈtoːtɛm]. Tüte is at rank #9,471, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈtyːtə].

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 51656, this pair ranks #1,127,186 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Totem vs Tüte

Shared letters: et. Private to "Totem": mo. Private to "Tüte": ü.

"Totem" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC  ·  "Tüte" · 4 letters · shape CVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Totem ← ottem · toetm · totemm · totme · tottem · ttoem · ttotem

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "Totem" and "Tüte" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈtoːtɛm] versus [ˈtyːtə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "Totem" vs "Tüte" - which ranks higher?
"Tüte" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #9,471 in our German list, against #42,185 for "Totem". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Eye-level mix-up between "Totem" and "Tüte" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Totem" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Tüte" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,127,186 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Totem" and "Tüte" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "tollem vs Totem". 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 #1,127,186 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list