actually
/ˈæk.t͡ʃʊ.ə.li/
"actually" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“actually” is in the everyday core of English, ranked #302 in English word frequency and used as an adverb.
- #302
- frequency rank, English
- 8
- letters
- 10
- tracked misspellings
- 3
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - In act or in fact; really; in truth; positively.
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | actually |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adverb |
| IPA | /ˈæk.t͡ʃʊ.ə.li/ |
| Letters | 8 |
| Frequency rank | #302 |
| Misspellings tracked | 10 |
| Confusable pairs | 3 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “actually” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for actually is 8 letters long, classified as an adverb, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈæk.t͡ʃʊ.ə.li/. Corpus data places it at rank #302 in overall English word frequency, putting it firmly in the everyday core of the language. Wiktionary records 3 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 10 likely wrong-spelling variants for actually, with forms such as "acctually", "actaully", and "acttually". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 3 confusable-pair relationships, "annually", "actual", "actuality", since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English actually, actuelly, equivalent to actual + -ly. The correct English form is actually, spelled A-C-T-U-A-L-L-Y.
Definition
- 1In act or in fact; really; in truth; positively.
- 2Actively.
- 3Currently; at the time.
Etymology
From Middle English actually, actuelly, equivalent to actual + -ly.
Synonyms
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: acctually,actaully,acttually,actuallyy,actualy,actualyl,actulaly,acutally,atcually,catually
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of actually - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.
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 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Using “actually”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is A-C-T-U-A-L-L-Y - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈæk.t͡ʃʊ.ə.li/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “annually” - see the side-by-side comparison. actually vs annually
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
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.