kale
/keɪl/noun
kale is spelled K-A-L-E: 4 letters and one syllable. It appears 2.4 times per million words in written English, the 17,587th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, kale means “An edible plant, similar to cabbage, with curled leaves that do not form a dense head (Brassica oleracea var. acephala)” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of kale is kales.
How many letters and syllables are in kale?
| Letters | 4: K-A-L-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 |
| In writing | 2.4 times per million words; the 17,587th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with | |
| 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); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is kale?
Kale appears 2.4 times per million words in written English, the 17,587th 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 kale?
- US /keɪl/
- Australia /kæɪl/
Kale has one syllable.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-au-kale.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with kale
Sources: English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
What rhymes with kale?
The 12 most written words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as kale from its last stressed vowel (/eɪl/):
Spelled with the same letters in another order: lake, leak.
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 kale
- kales plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does kale mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
An edible plant, similar to cabbage, with curled leaves that do not form a dense head (Brassica oleracea var. acephala)
- 2
Any of several cabbage-like food plants that are kinds of Brassica oleracea.
- 3
Broth containing kale as a chief ingredient.
- 4
datedslangMoney.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Kale in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense edible plant: Brassica oleracea acephala:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | chou frisé |
| German | Grünkohl, Federkohl |
| Portuguese | couve-de-folhas |
| Spanish | col rizada, kale (keil), repollo crespo, berza rizosa |
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 kale come from?
From Northern Middle English cale, cal (Southern col), from Old English cāl, cāul, cāwel, from Latin caulis. Compare Icelandic kál (“cabbage”), German Kohl (“cabbage”). Doublet of caulis, cole, and gobi.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).