mail

/meɪl/

//meɪl// noun

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

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

The verdict

“mail” sits in 20 confusable pairs (corpus #1,952) as a noun. The look-alike neighbours are the real trap.

#1,952
frequency rank, English
4,057
“M” headwords
4
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 2, 2026) - A bag or wallet.

Corpus desk

Index EN-mail · mail · English

mail · rank #1,952 · 4 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #1,952
  • LEN-MID 4 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-LOW 4 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,057
  • PHOTO-FINISH links

Nearest frequency peer: links (-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 “mail”

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

corpus weight

What this shows Bars show where “mail” 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 2, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

mail vs mi
50% similar
mail vs ML
0% similar
mail vs may
50% similar

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

Key facts for mail
PropertyValue
Headwordmail
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/meɪl/
Letters4
Frequency rank#1,952
Misspellings tracked4
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “mail” sits in English frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). mail lands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Easy to mix with look-alikes

The spelling risk for mail is neighbouring look-alikes ("mi", "ML", …), not just typos; it is anoun pronounced /meɪl/. Frequency #1,952 among 4,057 “M” headwords. 10 recorded senses keep meaning in play.

Our generated misspelling index lists 4 likely wrong-spelling variants for mail, with forms such as "amil", "maill", and "mial". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "mi", "ML", "may", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English male, from Anglo-Norman male, Old French male (“bag, wallet”), from Frankish *malha (“bag”), from Proto-Germanic *malhō (“bag, pouch”), from Proto-Indo-European *molko- (“leather pouch”). Compare Dutch maal. The correct English form is mail, spelled M-A-I-L.

Definition

  1. 1
    A bag or wallet.
  2. 2
    A bag containing letters to be delivered by post.
  3. 3
    The (physical) material conveyed by the postal service.
  4. 4
    The (physical) material conveyed by the postal service.
  5. 5
    A stagecoach, train or ship that delivers such post.
  6. 6
    The postal service or system in general.
  7. 7
    Electronic mail, e-mail: a computer network–based service for sending, storing, and forwarding electronic messages.
  8. 8
    Email messages conceived in bulk (as with the analogous sense of physical mail).
  9. 9
    An email message.
  10. 10
    A trunk, box, or bag, in which clothing, etc., may be carried.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. What, loo, man, see here of dyce a bale; / A brydelynge caste for that is in thy male!
  2. Open the Males, yet guard the treaſure ſure. Lay out our golden wedges to the view, That their reflexions may amaze the Perſeans.

Etymology

From Middle English male, from Anglo-Norman male, Old French male (“bag, wallet”), from Frankish *malha (“bag”), from Proto-Germanic *malhō (“bag, pouch”), from Proto-Indo-European *molko- (“leather pouch”). Compare Dutch maal.

This word in other languages

correo(Español)poste(Français)Post(Deutsch)correio(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • amil
  • maill
  • mial
  • mmail

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

amil2maill1mial2mmail1
Edit distance from "mail"

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.

PlainSpell is rendered directly from structured Wiktionary extracts and open word-frequency lists, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of September 2, 2026. Primary sources: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) and FrequencyWords.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "mail"?
"mail" is spelled M-A-I-L. The IPA pronunciation is /meɪl/.
What does "mail" mean?
As a noun, "mail" means: A bag or wallet.
What words are commonly confused with "mail"?
"mail" is commonly confused with "mi", "ML", "may". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "mail"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "mail" is /meɪl/. 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 "mail"?
From Middle English male, from Anglo-Norman male, Old French male (“bag, wallet”), from Frankish *malha (“bag”), from Proto-Germanic *malhō (“bag, pouch”), from Proto-Indo-European *molko- (“leather pouch”). Compare Dutch maal. 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 "mail", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 4 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

kick#1,950pair#1,955fuel#1,942flat#1,941
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