totem

\tɔ.tɛm\

/\tɔ.tɛm\/ noun

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

The verdict

“totem” has 7 generated spelling variants in the French index at frequency #23,713. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#23,713
frequency rank, French
3,703
“T” headwords
7
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Aïeul animal ou végétal dans la cosmogonie totémique.

Corpus desk

Index FR-totem · totem · French

totem · rank #23,713 · 7 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #23,713
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 7 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,703
  • PHOTO-FINISH tofu

Nearest frequency peer: tofu (-1 rank slots)

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.

Pairs de rang près de l'aimant d'erreurs « totem »

Même bande de rareté: utile si une faute tombe sur un lemme voisin

corpus weight

What this shows « totem » siège parmi ces pairs FrequencyWords; la profondeur des fautes est suivie à part dans le graphique d'édition.

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).

totem vs tte
60% similar
totem vs toto
60% similar
totem vs toute
60% similar

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

Key facts for totem
PropertyValue
Headwordtotem
LanguageFrench
Part of speechNoun
IPA\tɔ.tɛm\
Letters5
Frequency rank#23,713
Misspellings tracked7
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Fréquence de l'aimant d'erreurs « totem »

La fréquence va de la poignée de mots du quotidien (gauche) à la longue queue presque jamais vue (droite).totemse place ici:

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

L'échelle est logarithmique (chaque tic ≈ 10× plus rare). Dans la même bande de rareté figurent « tofu » (#23,712), « toby » (#23,711), « transportent » (#23,715). Parmi 3,703 lemmes en « T », « totem » est au #23,713. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 7 spelling variants around totem (IPA \tɔ.tɛm\), anoun. Corpus frequency is #23,713 among 3,703 “T” headwords. Wiktionary lists 6 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 7 likely wrong-spelling variants for totem, with forms such as "ottem", "toetm", and "totemm". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "tte", "toto", "toute", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

No documented word history exists for this headword, so its spelling pattern is best understood through pronunciation rather than a traceable origin. The correct French form is totem, spelled T-O-T-E-M.

Definition

  1. 1
    Aïeul animal ou végétal dans la cosmogonie totémique.
  2. 2
    Objet rituel présent dans différentes sociétés traditionnelles dans le monde, qui peut servir comme emblème d'un groupe de personnes comme une famille, un clan ou une tribu.
  3. 3
    Mascotte.
  4. 4
    Animal offert à un scout par ses « chefs » (animateurs) se rapportant aux qualités physiques ou morales de l’animé.
  5. 5
    Dispositif publicitaire de forme générale verticale généralement tendue par une structure composée d’un mât et d’un pied.
  6. 6
    Symbole célèbre.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. La croyance totémique impose des tabous très stricts: respect de l'espèce totémique, interdiction de pénétrer dans le lieu, habitat du totem.
  2. Une tribu fonde sa légitimité sur la référence à un totem qui symbolise et illustre les différences complémentaires que les membres de la tribu apportent à l’infraculture de la nation. Le totem, dans nos sociétés développées, peut être un homme qui a créé une technique ou une théorie utile à la progression de la nation et dont les membres de la tribu sont…

This word in other languages

tótem(Español)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ottem
  • toetm
  • totemm
  • totme
  • tottem
  • ttoem
  • ttotem

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of totem - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

ottem2toetm2totemm1totme2tottem1ttoem2ttotem1
Edit distance from "totem"

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 French corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "totem"?
"totem" is spelled T-O-T-E-M. The IPA pronunciation is \tɔ.tɛm\.
What does "totem" mean?
As a noun, "totem" means: Aïeul animal ou végétal dans la cosmogonie totémique.
What words are commonly confused with "totem"?
"totem" is commonly confused with "tte", "toto", "toute". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "totem"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "totem" is \tɔ.tɛm\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "totem" come from?
"totem" is a French word. PlainSpell covers definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German.
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 French words by spelling shape

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

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked French headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

tibia#23,709tempe#23,706squat#23,696squad#23,695

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (7 here; floor ≥5).

Xiaomi7 variantsémail7 variantsabdos7 variantsaccros7 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list