tuffeau

\ty.fo\

/\ty.fo\/ noun

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

The verdict

“tuffeau” is uncommon French (frequency #85,343 among 3,703 “T” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#85,343
frequency rank, French
3,703
“T” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Variété de tuf.

Corpus desk

Index FR-tuffeau · tuffeau · French

tuffeau · rank #85,343 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #85,343
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,703
  • PHOTO-FINISH trémousser

Nearest frequency peer: trémousser (-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.

Frequency neighbourhood for “tuffeau”

Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)

corpus weight

What this shows Bars show where “tuffeau” sits against the nearest ranked French headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for tuffeau
PropertyValue
Headwordtuffeau
LanguageFrench
Part of speechNoun
IPA\ty.fo\
Letters7
Frequency rank#85,343
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “tuffeau” sits in French frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). tuffeau lands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

tuffeau is uncommon French at frequency #85,343 among 3,703 “T” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed \ty.fo\. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for tuffeau, a sign its spelling follows regular French conventions. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.

No explicit etymology string is stored for this entry, so its spelling is best read as a straightforward mapping from sound to letter. The correct French form is tuffeau, spelled T-U-F-F-E-A-U.

Definition

  1. 1
    Variété de tuf.
  2. 2
    Pierre calcaire, propre à bâtir, blanche et tendre.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Vous qui venez de rencontrer sous les ombrages des Fontaines ce malheureux jeune homme brisé par le chagrin, vous le verrez menant sa rêverie par un de ces étroits sentiers creusés dans le tuffeau, usés et polis par les sabots de vingt générations d'hommes de la vigne et dont les détours au flanc des coteaux de la Loire inscrivent le paraphe d'un labeur s…
  2. L’ogive des arcades de la nef est fortement dessinée par de larges moulures alternativement saillantes et creuses. Les voûtes sont en tuffeau ; elles sont très minces, et renforcées par des nervures rondes qui se croisent diagonalement.

This word in other languages

tufa(English)toba(Español)

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.

PlainSpell is rendered directly from structured Wiktionary extracts and open word-frequency lists, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of September 3, 2026. Primary sources: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) and FrequencyWords.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "tuffeau"?
"tuffeau" is spelled T-U-F-F-E-A-U. The IPA pronunciation is \ty.fo\.
What does "tuffeau" mean?
As a noun, "tuffeau" means: Variété de tuf.
How do you pronounce "tuffeau"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "tuffeau" is \ty.fo\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "tuffeau" come from?
"tuffeau" is a French word. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for this and other words across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German on PlainSpell.
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 "tuffeau", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked French headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

traînez#85,337touffus#85,332utérins#85,355versons#85,369

What to do next

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PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.

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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list