Taoism

Name: Taoism, English Word Data
Creator: Wiktionary
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

/ˈtaʊ̯.ɪzm̩/

//ˈtaʊ̯.ɪzm̩// name

By PlainSpell · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) · analyzed May 6, 2026

The verdict

“Taoism” is uncommon English (frequency #53,902 among 27,828 “T” headwords), classed as a proper noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#53,902
frequency rank, English: 27,828
“T” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A Chinese mystical philosophy traditionally founded by Lao-tzu in the 6th century B.C.E. that teaches conformity to the tao by wu wei, naturalness, and simplicity, long closely intertwined with Chi...

Key facts for Taoism
Property	Value
Headword	Taoism
Language	English
Part of speech	Proper noun
IPA	/ˈtaʊ̯.ɪzm̩/
Letters	6
Frequency rank	#53,902
Misspellings tracked	0
Confusable pairs	0
Source	Wiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “Taoism” sits in English frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). Taoism lands here:

#53,902

#1#100#1K#10K#100K

← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

Taoism is uncommon English at frequency #53,902 among 27,828 “T” headwords, classed as aproper noun, transcribed /ˈtaʊ̯.ɪzm̩/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for Taoism, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Tao + -ism. The correct English form is Taoism, spelled T-A-O-I-S-M.

Definition

1
A Chinese mystical philosophy traditionally founded by Lao-tzu in the 6th century B.C.E. that teaches conformity to the tao by wu wei, naturalness, and simplicity, long closely intertwined with Chinese folk religion and influenced by Buddhism, with which it shares five precepts.
2
Traditional Chinese folk religion.

Etymology

From Tao + -ism.

This word in other languages

taoísmo(Español)taoïsme(Français)Taoismus(Deutsch)

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "Taoism"?

"Taoism" is spelled T-A-O-I-S-M. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈtaʊ̯.ɪzm̩/.

What does "Taoism" mean?

As a proper noun, "Taoism" means: A Chinese mystical philosophy traditionally founded by Lao-tzu in the 6th century B.C.E. that teaches conformity to the tao by wu wei, naturalness, and simplicity, long closely intertwined with Chi...

How do you pronounce "Taoism"?

The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "Taoism" is /ˈtaʊ̯.ɪzm̩/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.

What is the origin of the word "Taoism"?

From Tao + -ism. See the full etymology section above for more details.

Is PlainSpell free to use?

Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Using “Taoism”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

The one correct English spelling is T-A-O-I-S-M - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
Say it as /ˈtaʊ̯.ɪzm̩/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words

Other uncommon English words near this rank

Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.