fella

/fɛ.lə/

//fɛ.lə// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"fella" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“fella” has 5 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #15,166. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#15,166
frequency rank, English
2,507
“F” headwords
5
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Pronunciation spelling of fellow.

Corpus desk

Index EN-fella · fella · English

fella · rank #15,166 · 5 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #15,166
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 5 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,507
  • PHOTO-FINISH famously

Nearest frequency peer: famously (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “fella”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “fella” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

fella vs FLA
0% similar
fella vs full
60% similar
fella vs felt
60% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for fella
PropertyValue
Headwordfella
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/fɛ.lə/
Letters5
Frequency rank#15,166
Misspellings tracked5
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “fella”

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).fellalands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Same rarity band neighbours include “famously” (#15,165), “fielding” (#15,167), “expectancy” (#15,164). Among 2,507 “F” headwords, “fella” is #15,166. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 5 spelling variants around fella (IPA /fɛ.lə/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #15,166 among 2,507 “F” headwords. Wiktionary lists 3 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 5 likely wrong-spelling variants for fella, with forms such as "eflla", "fela", and "felal". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "FLA", "full", "felt", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: From fellow. The correct English form is fella, spelled F-E-L-L-A.

Definition

  1. 1
    Pronunciation spelling of fellow.
  2. 2
    Used as a general intensifier; a pfella.
  3. 3
    An Internet troll engaged in information warfare against Russia, especially in regards to the Russo-Ukrainian war.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how fella appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Am I right, fellas?
  2. By the third go-around, the essence of what I wrote was, "And the same to you, fella!" I am glad that our relationship has survived that exchange.

Etymology

From fellow.

This word in other languages

tío(Español)cara(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • eflla
  • fela
  • felal
  • ffella
  • flela

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of fella - 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.

eflla2fela1felal2ffella1flela2
Edit distance from "fella"

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

How do you spell "fella"?
"fella" is spelled F-E-L-L-A. The IPA pronunciation is /fɛ.lə/.
What does "fella" mean?
As a noun, "fella" means: Pronunciation spelling of fellow.
What words are commonly confused with "fella"?
"fella" is commonly confused with "FLA", "full", "felt". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "fella"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "fella" is /fɛ.lə/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "fella"?
From fellow. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "fella", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

icing#15,191jihad#15,200cling#15,130cisco#15,128

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (5 here; floor ≥5).

glee5 variantsdine5 variantscoco5 variantsLIGA5 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list