Which to use
“tou” and “tutu” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #17,579
- “tou” frequency rank
- #36,195
- “tutu” frequency rank
- 53774
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | tou | tutu |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Serment. | Cul, derrière, fesses. |
Where the eye mixes tou and tutu
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: tou vs tutu
A purely visual mix-up. tou (\ˈtu:\) and tutu (\ty.ty\) 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 53774, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
tou is recorded at frequency rank #17,579, classified as anoun, pronounced \ˈtu:\. tutu is at rank #36,195, tagged as anoun, pronounced \ty.ty\.
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 53774, this pair ranks #138,443 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of tou vs tutu
Shared letters: tu. Private to "tou": o. Private to "tutu": -.
"tou" · 3 letters · shape CVV · "tutu" · 4 letters · shape CVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- tutu ← ttutu · ttuu · tuttu · tuut · uttu
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "tou" for "tutu" ever safe?
Which is more common, "tou" or "tutu"?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "tou" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "tutu" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #138,443 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "tou" and "tutu" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "turf vs tutu". 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 #138,443 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.