tapu
/ˈtɑːpuː/
"tapu" is a 4-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“tapu” is uncommon English (frequency #79,115 among 27,828 “T” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- #79,115
- frequency rank, English
- 27,828
- “T” headwords
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Alternative form of taboo.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | tapu |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈtɑːpuː/ |
| Letters | 4 |
| Frequency rank | #79,115 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “tapu” sits in English frequency
Rare enough to double-check
tapu is uncommon English at frequency #79,115 among 27,828 “T” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈtɑːpuː/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Alternative form of taboo.".
Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for tapu, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.
Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from Māori tapu. Doublet of kapu. The correct English form is tapu, spelled T-A-P-U.
Definition
- 1Alternative form of taboo.
Etymology
Borrowed from Māori tapu. Doublet of kapu.
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 "tapu"?
What does "tapu" mean?
How do you pronounce "tapu"?
What is the origin of the word "tapu"?
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Using “tapu”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is T-A-P-U - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈtɑːpuː/ (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.