Which to use
“toh” is a verb and “tui” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #47,966
- “toh” frequency rank
- #38,658
- “tui” frequency rank
- 86624
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | toh | tui |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | To collapse (fail or break down internally); to fall asleep or collapse from exhaustion. | A species of honeyeater, Prosthemadera novaeseelandiae, a bird which is endemic to New Zealand. |
Where the eye mixes toh and tui
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence. toh (CVC) and tui (CVV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Look-alike desk: toh vs tui
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: toh is [t˭o˦˨] while tui is /ˈtʉi/. 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 (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 86624, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
toh is recorded at frequency rank #47,966, classified as averb, pronounced [t˭o˦˨]. tui is at rank #38,658, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈtʉi/.
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 86624, this pair ranks #8,717 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of toh vs tui
Shared letters: t. Private to "toh": ho. Private to "tui": iu.
"toh" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "tui" · 3 letters · shape CVV
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "toh" for "tui" ever safe?
In ordinary English text, does "toh" or "tui" show up more?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "toh" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "tui" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #8,717 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "toh" and "tui" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Taf vs toh". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #8,717 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.