Which to use
“tomes” and “totem” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #11,493
- “tomes” frequency rank
- #23,713
- “totem” frequency rank
- 35206
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | tomes | totem |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Pluriel de tome. | Aïeul animal ou végétal dans la cosmogonie totémique. |
Where the eye mixes tomes and totem
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: tomes vs totem
A purely visual mix-up. tomes (\tɔm\) and totem (\tɔ.tɛm\) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 35206, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
tomes is recorded at frequency rank #11,493, classified as anoun, pronounced \tɔm\. totem is at rank #23,713, tagged as anoun, pronounced \tɔ.tɛm\.
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 35206, this pair ranks #278,395 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of tomes vs totem
Shared letters: emot. Private to "tomes": s. Private to "totem": -.
"tomes" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC · "totem" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "tomes" for "totem" ever safe?
Frequency check: "tomes" vs "totem" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "tomes" and "totem" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "tomes" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "totem" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #278,395 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "tomes" and "totem" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "token vs totem". 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 #278,395 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.