Israel

/ˈɪz.ɹeɪ.əl/

//ˈɪz.ɹeɪ.əl// name

"israel" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“Israel” has 8 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #1,761. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#1,761
frequency rank, English
2,140
“I” headwords
8
tracked misspellings
6
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A country in Western Asia in the Middle East, at the eastern shore of the Mediterranean. Official name: State of Israel.

Corpus desk

Index EN-israel · Israel · English

Israel · rank #1,761 · 8 variants · 6 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #1,761
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 6 pairs
  • VAR-MID 8 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,140
  • PHOTO-FINISH inc

Nearest frequency peer: inc (-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 “Israel”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “Israel” 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).

Israel vs Israeli
86% similar
Israel vs Israelis
75% similar
Israel vs Isabel
67% similar

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

Key facts for Israel
PropertyValue
HeadwordIsrael
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechProper noun
IPA/ˈɪz.ɹeɪ.əl/
Letters6
Frequency rank#1,761
Misspellings tracked8
Confusable pairs6
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “Israel”

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).Israellands 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 “inc” (#1,760), “journal” (#1,762), “housing” (#1,759). Among 2,140 “I” headwords, “Israel” is #1,761. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 8 spelling variants around Israel (IPA /ˈɪz.ɹeɪ.əl/), aproper noun. Corpus frequency is #1,761 among 2,140 “I” headwords. Wiktionary lists 9 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 8 likely wrong-spelling variants for Israel, with forms such as "irsael", "isarel", and "israell". 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 6 confusable-pair relationships, "Israeli", "Israelis", "Isabel", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English Israel, from Old English, borrowed from Latin Israel, from Ancient Greek Ἰσραήλ (Israḗl), from Hebrew יִשְׂרָאֵל (yisra'él, “Israel”). In the Bible, it is said to be from the name יִשְׂרֶה אֵל (yisré 'él) given to Jacob in he:T:29, after… The correct English form is Israel, spelled I-S-R-A-E-L.

Definition

  1. 1
    A country in Western Asia in the Middle East, at the eastern shore of the Mediterranean. Official name: State of Israel.
  2. 2
    A Biblical region of Western Asia roughly coextensive with the modern State of Israel, known in the Bible as the Land of Israel and considered the ancestral homeland of the Jewish people.
  3. 3
    An ancient kingdom in Western Asia, roughly coextensive with the modern State of Israel and the Land of Israel.
  4. 4
    An ancient kingdom that occupied the northern part of the Land of Israel and modern State of Israel, as distinct from Judah.
  5. 5
    The Jews as a people, taken collectively.
  6. 6
    A male given name from Hebrew.
  7. 7
    A male given name from Hebrew.
  8. 8
    A surname.
  9. 9
    A barangay of Imelda, Zamboanga Sibugay, Philippines.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. If we look at the Middle East, I think it’s about time we stop those of us, who support – as most of us do – Israel in this body, for apologizing for our support for Israel. There is no apology to be made. None. It is the best $3 billion investment we make. Were there not an Israel, the United States of America would have to invent an Israel to protect he…
  2. And you know how we train for the army? We don’t train for defensive warfare. If the war against Israel ever had to be fought on Israeli soil – do I have to tell you? –, it’s an impossibility. So it’s the same thing. Don’t let the war of words ever be fought about Israel’s nature!

Etymology

From Middle English Israel, from Old English, borrowed from Latin Israel, from Ancient Greek Ἰσραήλ (Israḗl), from Hebrew יִשְׂרָאֵל (yisra'él, “Israel”). In the Bible, it is said to be from the name יִשְׂרֶה אֵל (yisré 'él) given to Jacob in he:T:29, after which his descendants came to be known as Israelites and their land as the "kingdom/land of Israel". The personal name, already attested in Eblaite 𒅖𒊏𒅋 (iš-ra-il) and Ugaritic 𐎊𐎌𐎗𐎛𐎍 (yšrỉl), has been variously translated as "he wrestles with God", "he prevails with God", or "God rules" (possibly from the same root ש־ר־ה/ש־ר־ר as שָׂרָה (“Sarah”)). Line 27 of the Merneptah Stele (from about 1200 B.C.E.) is thought to contain the earliest attestation of the name Israel in any language, Egyptian ysrjꜣr. : i-i-z:Z1s*Z1s:r-i-A-r:Z1*T14-A1*B1:Z2 Doublet of Yisroel.

Synonyms

the State of IsraelIsrahellJewsraelZionistanIsn'trealZionist entitythe Land of IsraelPalestinethe Holy LandCanaanthe Children of Israelthe IsraeliteJewryZion

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • irsael
  • isarel
  • israell
  • israle
  • isreal
  • isrrael
  • issrael
  • sirael

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of Israel - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

irsael2isarel2israell1israle2isreal2isrrael1issrael1sirael2
Edit distance from "Israel"

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 "Israel"?
"Israel" is spelled I-S-R-A-E-L. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈɪz.ɹeɪ.əl/.
What does "Israel" mean?
As a proper noun, "Israel" means: A country in Western Asia in the Middle East, at the eastern shore of the Mediterranean. Official name: State of Israel.
What words are commonly confused with "Israel"?
"Israel" is commonly confused with "Israeli", "Israelis", "Isabel". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "Israel"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "Israel" is /ˈɪz.ɹeɪ.əl/. 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 "Israel"?
From Middle English Israel, from Old English, borrowed from Latin Israel, from Ancient Greek Ἰσραήλ (Israḗl), from Hebrew יִשְׂרָאֵל (yisra'él, “Israel”). In the Bible, it is said to be from the name יִשְׂרֶה אֵל (yisré 'él) given to Jacob in he:T... 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 "Israel", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (8 here; floor ≥5).

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list