ail
/ˈeɪ̯l/verb, noun
ail is spelled A-I-L: 3 letters and one syllable. It appears about once in every 5 million words in written English, the 69,884th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, ail means “To cause to suffer; to trouble, afflict. (Now chiefly in interrogative or indefinite constructions.)” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in ail?
| Letters | 3: A-I-L |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 |
| In writing | about once in every 5 million words; the 69,884th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Pairs people search | |
| Same letters |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is ail?
Ail appears about once in every 5 million words in written English, the 69,884th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce ail?
- /ˈeɪ̯l/
- [ˈeɪ̯l]
Ail has one syllable.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-ail.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with ail
Word pairs people search, with the monthly searches for “a vs b” (G: Google, B: Bing, United States).
Sources: Google and Bing searches (September 2025 to August 2026, through DataForSEO); English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
What rhymes with ail?
No other word on PlainSpell ends in the same sounds as ail.
Spelled with the same letters in another order: lai.
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of ail
- ails present, singular, he/she/it, plural
- ailing participle, present
- ailed participle, past
- ailer comparative
- more ail comparative
- ailest superlative
- most ail superlative
- ile
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does ail mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
To cause to suffer; to trouble, afflict. (Now chiefly in interrogative or indefinite constructions.)
Have some chicken soup. It's good for what ails you.
- 2
To be ill; to suffer; to be troubled.
noun
- 1
The awn of barley or other types of corn.
- 2
obsoleteAn ailment; trouble; illness.
adjective
- 1
obsoletePainful; troublesome.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Ail in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | manquer, faillir , être malade, souffrir |
| German | weh tun, plagen , kränklich sein, leiden, krank sein, kränkeln |
| Portuguese | afligir , estar doente/aflito |
| Spanish | aquejar, afligir , padecer, adolecer , enfermedad |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does ail come from?
Inherited from Middle English eilen, from Old English eġlan, eġlian (“to trouble, afflict”), from Proto-West Germanic *aglijan, from Proto-Germanic *aglijaną (“to trouble, vex”), cognate with Gothic 𐌰𐌲𐌻𐌾𐌰𐌽 (agljan, “to distress”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).