tutu
/ˈtutu/
"tutu" is a 4-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“tutu” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #28,409 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #28,409
- frequency rank, English
- 4
- letters
- 5
- tracked misspellings
- 20
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A ballet skirt made of layered stiff but light netting.
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | tutu |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈtutu/ |
| Letters | 4 |
| Frequency rank | #28,409 |
| Misspellings tracked | 5 |
| Confusable pairs | 20 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “tutu” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for tutu is 4 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈtutu/. Corpus data places it at rank #28,409 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. The dominant gloss from Wiktionary reads: "A ballet skirt made of layered stiff but light netting.".
Our generated misspelling index lists 5 likely wrong-spelling variants for tutu, with forms such as "ttutu", "ttuu", and "tuttu". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "tux", "Tu", "TT", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.
Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from French tutu, from cucu (“bum, bottom”), playful reduplication of cul (“arse”). The correct English form is tutu, spelled T-U-T-U.
Definition
- 1A ballet skirt made of layered stiff but light netting.
Etymology
Borrowed from French tutu, from cucu (“bum, bottom”), playful reduplication of cul (“arse”).
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: ttutu,ttuu,tuttu,tuut,uttu
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of tutu - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.
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 "tutu"?
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Using “tutu”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is T-U-T-U - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈtutu/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “tux” - see the side-by-side comparison. tutu vs tux
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
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.