tui

/ˈtʉi/

//ˈtʉi// noun

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

"tui" is a 3-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“tui” sits in 20 confusable pairs (corpus #38,658) as a noun. The look-alike neighbours are the real trap.

#38,658
frequency rank, English
3,151
“T” headwords
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A species of honeyeater, Prosthemadera novaeseelandiae, a bird which is endemic to New Zealand.

Corpus desk

Index EN-tui · tui · English

tui · rank #38,658 · 0 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #38,658
  • LEN-MID 3 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,151
  • PHOTO-FINISH tweezers

Nearest frequency peer: tweezers (+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.

Frequency neighbours of confusable “tui”

Peers at similar corpus weight, separate from look-alike pairs below

corpus weight

What this shows Bars place “tui” against nearest ranked English headwords, not a reprint of the confusable-pair desk.

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).

tui vs TV
0% similar
tui vs TX
0% similar
tui vs Ty
0% similar

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

Key facts for tui
PropertyValue
Headwordtui
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈtʉi/
Letters3
Frequency rank#38,658
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Corpus rank beside confusables of “tui”

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).tuilands 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 “tweezers” (#38,659), “twerking” (#38,660), “transcontinental” (#38,655). Among 3,151 “T” headwords, “tui” is #38,658. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Easy to mix with look-alikes

The spelling risk for tui is neighbouring look-alikes ("TV", "TX", …), not just typos; it is anoun pronounced /ˈtʉi/. Frequency #38,658 among 3,151 “T” headwords. Gloss: "A species of honeyeater, Prosthemadera novaeseelandiae, a bird which is endemic to New Zealand.".

No generated misspelling entries exist for tui in our index, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "TV", "TX", "Ty", 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 Māori tūī. The correct English form is tui, spelled T-U-I.

Definition

  1. 1
    A species of honeyeater, Prosthemadera novaeseelandiae, a bird which is endemic to New Zealand.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. [A]ll was quiet, beautiful, and serene; the only sounds which broke the calm were the wild notes of the tooe (or New Zealand blackbird), the splashing of our own oars, or the occasional flight of a wild duck (or shag), disturbed by our approach.
  2. The most frequently visible of these feathered denizens of the forest is the Tui (Prostemadera novæ Zelandiæ), called 'the parson' by Captain [James] Cook, in consequence of its having two white feathers in the lower part of its neck resembling bands. In colour and shape it is very like the kingfisher, and its melodious notes present great variety.

Etymology

Borrowed from Māori tūī.

This word in other languages

méliphage tui(Français)

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 "tui"?
"tui" is spelled T-U-I. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈtʉi/.
What does "tui" mean?
As a noun, "tui" means: A species of honeyeater, Prosthemadera novaeseelandiae, a bird which is endemic to New Zealand.
What words are commonly confused with "tui"?
"tui" is commonly confused with "TV", "TX", "Ty". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "tui"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "tui" is /ˈtʉi/. 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 "tui"?
Borrowed from Māori tūī. 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 "tui", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 3 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

UBI#38,663wye#38,694Xia#38,695Yui#38,698

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list