let's

/lɛts/

//lɛts// verb

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

"let-s" is a 4-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“let's” has 7 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #712. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#712
frequency rank, English
2,297
“L” headwords
7
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Used to form the cohortative of verbs, equivalent of the first-person plural imperative in some other languages.

Corpus desk

Index EN-let-s · let's · English

let's · rank #712 · 7 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-CORE #712
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-1 1 vowel
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 7 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,297
  • PHOTO-FINISH hot

Nearest frequency peer: hot (-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.

Frequency neighbourhood for “let's”

Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)

corpus weight

What this shows Bars show where “let's” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.

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).

let's vs lots
60% similar
let's vs lets
80% similar
let's vs Leto
40% similar

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

Key facts for let's
PropertyValue
Headwordlet's
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/lɛts/
Letters5
Frequency rank#712
Misspellings tracked7
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “let's” sits in English frequency

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).let'slands here:

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

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Same rarity band neighbours include “hot” (#711), “longer” (#713), “hands” (#710). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 7 spelling variants around let's (IPA /lɛts/), averb. Corpus frequency is #712 among 2,297 “L” headwords. Wiktionary lists 2 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 7 likely wrong-spelling variants for let's, with forms such as "elt's", "le'ts", and "let'ss". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "lots", "lets", "Leto", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: Contraction of let us. Compare non-contracted Dutch laat ons, German lass uns (speaker with one other person) / lasst uns (speaker with more other persons) and Swedish låt oss. The correct English form is let's, spelled L-E-T-'-S.

Definition

  1. 1
    Used to form the cohortative of verbs, equivalent of the first-person plural imperative in some other languages.
  2. 2
    Used to form the hortative of verbs, equivalent of the second-person plural imperative in some other languages, chiefly instructional

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Let’s eat lunch sometime, shall we?
  2. I say let’s dance.

Etymology

Contraction of let us. Compare non-contracted Dutch laat ons, German lass uns (speaker with one other person) / lasst uns (speaker with more other persons) and Swedish låt oss.

This word in other languages

-emos(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • elt's
  • le'ts
  • let'ss
  • lets'
  • lett's
  • llet's
  • lte's

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

elt's2le'ts2let'ss1lets'2lett's1llet's1lte's2
Edit distance from "let's"

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 "let's"?
"let's" is spelled L-E-T-'-S. The IPA pronunciation is /lɛts/.
What does "let's" mean?
As a verb, "let's" means: Used to form the cohortative of verbs, equivalent of the first-person plural imperative in some other languages.
What words are commonly confused with "let's"?
"let's" is commonly confused with "lots", "lets", "Leto". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "let's"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "let's" is /lɛts/. 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 "let's"?
Contraction of let us. Compare non-contracted Dutch laat ons, German lass uns (speaker with one other person) / lasst uns (speaker with more other persons) and Swedish låt oss. 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 "let's", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

hands#710movie#715press#719alone#703

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (7 here; floor ≥5).

learn7 variantsbooks7 variantstakes7 variantssound7 variants

What to do next

You've looked up "let's". Here's where to go from here.

  • "let's" maps to 20 confusable pairs in this vintage; the highest-scored is "lots". View pair
  • 7 edit-distance misspelling variants are generated for spell-check research on this headword. See variants
  • Usage frequency rank #712 among English headwords in this corpus. Corpus statistics
  • Browse more English words in the "L" letter cohort. L–Z browse
  • PlainSpell rotates a curated Word of the Day from the English corpus, a passive way to discover vocabulary. Word of the Day

PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.

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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list