Which to use
“Tomes” is a name and “totem” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #46,822
- “Tomes” frequency rank
- #25,952
- “totem” frequency rank
- 72774
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Tomes | totem |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | A surname originating as a patronymic. | Any natural object or living creature that serves as an emblem of a tribe, clan or family; the representation of such an object or creature. |
Letter map: Tomes vs totem
Shared letters muted; letters that set Tomes and totem apart highlighted. Shared run: 3. Tomes and totem follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Grammar separator: Tomes vs totem
Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: Tomes is aname and totemanoun. On the page they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 72774, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Tomes is recorded at frequency rank #46,822, classified as aname. totem is at rank #25,952, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈtoʊtəm/.
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 72774, this pair ranks #41,904 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of Tomes vs totem
Shared letters: emot. Private to "Tomes": s. Private to "totem": -.
"Tomes" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC · "totem" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "Tomes" for "totem" ever safe?
Frequency check: "Tomes" vs "totem" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
You've compared "Tomes" and "totem". Here's where to go from here.
- Full dictionary entry for "Tomes" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "totem" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #41,904 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Tomes" and "totem" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Tomes vs torus". 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 #41,904 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.