Which to use
“tui” is a noun and “tut” is an intj - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #38,658
- “tui” frequency rank
- #31,384
- “tut” frequency rank
- 70042
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | tui | tut |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | A species of honeyeater, Prosthemadera novaeseelandiae, a bird which is endemic to New Zealand. | Tut tut; an expression of disapproval. |
Where the eye mixes tui and tut
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: tui vs tut
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: tui is /ˈtʉi/ while tut is /tʌt/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - i in “tui” becomes t in “tut”, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs intj), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 70042, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
tui is recorded at frequency rank #38,658, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈtʉi/. tut is at rank #31,384, tagged as anintj, pronounced /tʌt/.
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 70042, this pair ranks #52,159 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of tui vs tut
Shared letters: tu. Private to "tui": i. Private to "tut": -.
"tui" · 3 letters · shape CVV · "tut" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "tui" and "tut" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary English text, does "tui" or "tut" show up more?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "tui" and "tut" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "tui" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "tut" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #52,159 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "tui" and "tut" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "tuft vs tui". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #52,159 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.