Which to use
“tofu” and “tom” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #23,712
- “tofu” frequency rank
- #2,600
- “tom” frequency rank
- 26312
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | tofu | tom |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Pâte blanche peu odorante, issue du caillage du lait de soja. | Abréviation courante de tom-tom (instrument de percussion). |
Where the eye mixes tofu and tom
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses tofu with tom
A purely visual mix-up. tofu (\to.fu\) and tom (\tɔm\) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 26312, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
tofu is recorded at frequency rank #23,712, classified as anoun, pronounced \to.fu\. tom is at rank #2,600, tagged as anoun, pronounced \tɔm\.
Glosses for this pair are partially populated in our dataset, but the full side-by-side definitions above should still guide you to the right choice.
With a confusion score of 26312, this pair ranks #335,810 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of tofu vs tom
Shared letters: ot. Private to "tofu": fu. Private to "tom": m.
"tofu" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "tom" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- tofu ← otfu · tfou · toffu · touf · ttofu
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "tofu" for "tom" ever safe?
In ordinary French text, does "tofu" or "tom" show up more?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "tofu" and "tom" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "tofu" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "tom" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #335,810 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "tofu" and "tom" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "tif vs tofu". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #335,810 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.