# tofu

> English word · Noun · IPA /ˈtoʊfu/ · frequency rank #19,993

## Definitions
1. A protein-rich food made from curdled soy milk.
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 𐕪)

## 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.

## Easily confused with
- **Tu** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tofu-vs-tu)
- **too** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tofu-vs-too)
- **top** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tofu-vs-top)
- **tom** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tofu-vs-tom)
- **toy** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tofu-vs-toy)
- **ton** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tofu-vs-ton)
- **tow** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tofu-vs-tow)
- **tor** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tofu-vs-tor)
- **TOS** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tofu-vs-tos)
- **tot** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tofu-vs-tot)
- **tru** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tofu-vs-tru)
- **TOI** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tofu-vs-toi)
- **Tok** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tofu-vs-tok)
- **tol** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tofu-vs-tol)
- **TOV** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tofu-vs-tov)
- **Tsu** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tofu-vs-tsu)
- **toh** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tofu-vs-toh)
- **told** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tofu-vs-told)
- **took** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tofu-vs-took)
- **town** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tofu-vs-town)

## Common misspellings (5)
`otfu`, `tfou`, `toffu`, `touf`, `ttofu`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/tofu