folktale
/ˈfoʊkteɪl/
"folktale" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“folktale” is uncommon English (frequency #78,605 among 18,613 “F” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- #78,605
- frequency rank, English
- 18,613
- “F” headwords
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A tale or story that is part of the oral tradition of a people or a place.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | folktale |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈfoʊkteɪl/ |
| Letters | 8 |
| Frequency rank | #78,605 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “folktale” sits in English frequency
Rare enough to double-check
folktale is uncommon English at frequency #78,605 among 18,613 “F” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈfoʊkteɪl/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "A tale or story that is part of the oral tradition of a people or a place.".
We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for folktale, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.
Etymologically, the entry records: From folk + tale. The correct English form is folktale, spelled F-O-L-K-T-A-L-E.
Definition
- 1A tale or story that is part of the oral tradition of a people or a place.
Etymology
From folk + tale.
This word in other languages
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 “folktale”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is F-O-L-K-T-A-L-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈfoʊkteɪl/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Other uncommon English words near this rank
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.