Tautonyms: Words With Repeating Halves
A tautonym is a word where the first half is identical to the second half. Examples include MURMUR (MUR + MUR), BONBON (BON + BON), and CANCAN (CAN + CAN). These playful words often have onomatopoeic or borrowed origins.
How Tautonyms Work
M
U
R
M
U
R
MUR + MUR = MURMUR
All English Tautonyms (63 words)
atlatl
ATL + ATL
6 pts
8 WWF
baba
BA + BA
8 pts
10 WWF
beebee
BEE + BEE
10 pts
12 WWF
beriberi
BERI + BERI
12 pts
14 WWF
bonbon
BON + BON
10 pts
14 WWF
booboo
BOO + BOO
10 pts
12 WWF
boubou
BOU + BOU
10 pts
14 WWF
bubu
BU + BU
8 pts
12 WWF
bulbul
BUL + BUL
10 pts
16 WWF
caca
CA + CA
8 pts
10 WWF
cancan
CAN + CAN
10 pts
14 WWF
caracara
CARA + CARA
12 pts
14 WWF
chichi
CHI + CHI
16 pts
16 WWF
chowchow
CHOW + CHOW
24 pts
24 WWF
coco
CO + CO
8 pts
10 WWF
coocoo
COO + COO
10 pts
12 WWF
couscous
COUS + COUS
12 pts
16 WWF
cuscus
CUS + CUS
10 pts
14 WWF
dada
DA + DA
6 pts
6 WWF
dikdik
DIK + DIK
16 pts
16 WWF
dodo
DO + DO
6 pts
6 WWF
doodoo
DOO + DOO
8 pts
8 WWF
dumdum
DUM + DUM
12 pts
16 WWF
eses
ES + ES
4 pts
4 WWF
froufrou
FROU + FROU
14 pts
16 WWF
furfur
FUR + FUR
12 pts
14 WWF
gaga
GA + GA
6 pts
8 WWF
gogo
GO + GO
6 pts
8 WWF
greegree
GREE + GREE
10 pts
12 WWF
grigri
GRI + GRI
8 pts
10 WWF
grugru
GRU + GRU
8 pts
12 WWF
guitguit
GUIT + GUIT
10 pts
14 WWF
haha
HA + HA
10 pts
8 WWF
hotshots
HOTS + HOTS
14 pts
12 WWF
juju
JU + JU
18 pts
24 WWF
kaka
KA + KA
12 pts
12 WWF
kavakava
KAVA + KAVA
22 pts
24 WWF
lavalava
LAVA + LAVA
14 pts
18 WWF
lulu
LU + LU
4 pts
8 WWF
mahimahi
MAHI + MAHI
18 pts
18 WWF
mama
MA + MA
8 pts
10 WWF
meme
ME + ME
8 pts
10 WWF
motmot
MOT + MOT
10 pts
12 WWF
mumu
MU + MU
8 pts
12 WWF
murmur
MUR + MUR
10 pts
14 WWF
muumuu
MUU + MUU
10 pts
16 WWF
nana
NA + NA
4 pts
6 WWF
nene
NE + NE
4 pts
6 WWF
palpal
PAL + PAL
10 pts
14 WWF
papa
PA + PA
8 pts
10 WWF
pawpaw
PAW + PAW
16 pts
18 WWF
pompom
POM + POM
14 pts
18 WWF
pupu
PU + PU
8 pts
12 WWF
sarsar
SAR + SAR
6 pts
6 WWF
tartar
TAR + TAR
6 pts
6 WWF
testes
TES + TES
6 pts
6 WWF
titi
TI + TI
4 pts
4 WWF
tsetse
TSE + TSE
6 pts
6 WWF
tsktsk
TSK + TSK
14 pts
14 WWF
tutu
TU + TU
4 pts
6 WWF
tzetze
TZE + TZE
24 pts
24 WWF
valval
VAL + VAL
12 pts
16 WWF
weewee
WEE + WEE
12 pts
12 WWF
Tautonym Fun Facts
- Biology Connection: In taxonomy, tautonyms are species names where the genus and species are the same (e.g., Gorilla gorilla)
- Language Origins: Many English tautonyms come from other languages - BONBON from French, COUSCOUS from Berber
- Scrabble Value: MURMUR scores 10 points in Scrabble, making it a solid mid-game play