modal
/ˈməʊdəl/
"modal" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“modal” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #24,521 in English word frequency and used as an adjective.
- #24,521
- frequency rank, English
- 5
- letters
- 7
- tracked misspellings
- 20
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Of, or relating to a mode or modus.
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | modal |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| IPA | /ˈməʊdəl/ |
| Letters | 5 |
| Frequency rank | #24,521 |
| Misspellings tracked | 7 |
| Confusable pairs | 20 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “modal” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for modal is 5 letters long, classified as an adjective, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈməʊdəl/. Corpus data places it at rank #24,521 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 9 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 7 likely wrong-spelling variants for modal, with forms such as "mdoal", "mmodal", and "moadl". 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 20 confusable-pair relationships, "mol", "mode", "Modi", 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 French modal, from Medieval Latin modālis (“pertaining to a mode”), from Latin modus (“mode”). Compare to French, Spanish, and Portuguese modal and Italian modale. By surface analysis, mod(e) + -al. The correct English form is modal, spelled M-O-D-A-L.
Definition
- 1Of, or relating to a mode or modus.
- 2Of, relating to, or describing the mood of a clause.
- 3Of, relating to, or composed in the musical modi by which an octave is divided, associated with emotional moods in Ancient — and in medieval ecclesiastical — music.
- 4Of, relating to, or composed in the musical modi by which an octave is divided, associated with emotional moods in Ancient — and in medieval ecclesiastical — music.
- 5Of, or relating to the modality between propositions.
- 6Relating to the statistical mode.
- 7Having separate modes in which user input has different effects.
- 8Requiring immediate user interaction and thus presented so that it cannot be closed or interacted behind until a decision is made.
- 9Relating to the form of a thing rather to any of its attributes.
Etymology
From Middle French modal, from Medieval Latin modālis (“pertaining to a mode”), from Latin modus (“mode”). Compare to French, Spanish, and Portuguese modal and Italian modale. By surface analysis, mod(e) + -al.
Synonyms
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: mdoal,mmodal,moadl,modall,moddal,modla,omdal
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of modal - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.
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 “modal”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is M-O-D-A-L - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈməʊdəl/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “mol” - see the side-by-side comparison. modal vs mol
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
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.