Which to use
“tui” and “tye” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #38,658
- “tui” frequency rank
- #40,491
- “tye” frequency rank
- 79149
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | tui | tye |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | A species of honeyeater, Prosthemadera novaeseelandiae, a bird which is endemic to New Zealand. | Obsolete form of tie. |
Letter map: tui vs tye
Shared letters muted; letters that set tui and tye apart highlighted. Shared run: 1.
Pair insight - tui / tye
tui and tye are indexed as a confusable English pair. We have no recorded pronunciation or part of speech for both members, so the spelling overlap is what we can show you: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 79149, 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/. tye is at rank #40,491, tagged as anoun.
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 79149, this pair ranks #22,795 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of tui vs tye
Shared letters: t. Private to "tui": iu. Private to "tye": ey.
"tui" · 3 letters · shape CVV · "tye" · 3 letters · shape CVV
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "tui" for "tye" ever safe?
Which is more common, "tui" or "tye"?
Useful next steps
You've compared "tui" and "tye". Here's where to go from here.
- Full dictionary entry for "tui" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "tye" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #22,795 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "tui" and "tye" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Taf vs tye". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #22,795 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.