tofu

/ˈtoʊfu/

//ˈtoʊfu// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"tofu" is a 4-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“tofu” has 5 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #19,993. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#19,993
frequency rank, English
3,151
“T” headwords
5
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A protein-rich food made from curdled soy milk.

Corpus desk

Index EN-tofu · tofu · English

tofu · rank #19,993 · 5 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #19,993
  • LEN-MID 4 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 5 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,151
  • PHOTO-FINISH Tobias

Nearest frequency peer: Tobias (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “tofu”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “tofu” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

tofu vs Tu
25% similar
tofu vs too
50% similar
tofu vs top
50% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for tofu
PropertyValue
Headwordtofu
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈtoʊfu/
Letters4
Frequency rank#19,993
Misspellings tracked5
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “tofu”

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).tofulands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Same rarity band neighbours include “Tobias” (#19,992), “tito” (#19,991), “tights” (#19,990). Among 3,151 “T” headwords, “tofu” is #19,993. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 5 spelling variants around tofu (IPA /ˈtoʊfu/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #19,993 among 3,151 “T” headwords. Wiktionary lists 2 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 5 likely wrong-spelling variants for tofu, with forms such as "otfu", "tfou", and "toffu". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "Tu", "too", "top", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from Japanese 豆(とう)腐(ふ) (tōfu), from Middle Chinese 豆腐 (duwᴴ bju^X, “curdled bean”). Doublet of dubu and doufu. The correct English form is tofu, spelled T-O-F-U.

Definition

  1. 1
    A protein-rich food made from curdled soy milk.
  2. 2
    A box or rectangle, empty or with a question mark or hexadecimal code inside, displayed by some systems in place of a character not supported by available fonts. (such as _□ or 𐕪)

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

These source excerpts show how tofu appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. First, marinate the tofu. In a bowl, whisk the kecap manis, chilli sauce, and sesame oil together. Cut the tofu into strips about 1cm thick, mix gently (so it doesn't break) with the marinade and leave in the fridge for half an hour.

Etymology

Borrowed from Japanese 豆(とう)腐(ふ) (tōfu), from Middle Chinese 豆腐 (duwᴴ bju^X, “curdled bean”). Doublet of dubu and doufu.

This word in other languages

tofu(Español)tofu(Français)Tofu(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • otfu
  • tfou
  • toffu
  • touf
  • ttofu

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of tofu - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

otfu2tfou2toffu1touf2ttofu1
Edit distance from "tofu"

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 "tofu"?
"tofu" is spelled T-O-F-U. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈtoʊfu/.
What does "tofu" mean?
As a noun, "tofu" means: A protein-rich food made from curdled soy milk.
What words are commonly confused with "tofu"?
"tofu" is commonly confused with "Tu", "too", "top". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "tofu"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "tofu" is /ˈtoʊfu/. 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 "tofu"?
Borrowed from Japanese 豆(とう)腐(ふ) (tōfu), from Middle Chinese 豆腐 (duwᴴ bju^X, “curdled bean”). Doublet of dubu and doufu. 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.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "tofu", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 4 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

tito#19,991twat#20,002axel#20,041Pooh#19,943

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (5 here; floor ≥5).

assay5 variantsnuke5 variantsmeow5 variantsFIDE5 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list