mule
/mjuːl/
"mule" is a 4-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“mule” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #16,279 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #16,279
- frequency rank, English
- 4
- letters
- 5
- tracked misspellings
- 20
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - The generally sterile male or female hybrid offspring of a male donkey and a female horse.
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 | mule |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /mjuːl/ |
| Letters | 4 |
| Frequency rank | #16,279 |
| Misspellings tracked | 5 |
| Confusable pairs | 20 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “mule” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for mule is 4 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /mjuːl/. Corpus data places it at rank #16,279 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 10 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 5 likely wrong-spelling variants for mule, with forms such as "mlue", "mmule", and "muel". 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, "mum", "mun", "must", 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 mule, from Anglo-Norman mule and Old English mūl, both from Latin mūlus, from Proto-Indo-European *mukslós. Compare Late Latin muscellus (“young he-mule”), Old East Slavic мъшкъ (mŭškŭ, “mule”), Ancient Greek (Phocian) μυχλός (mukhlós, “… The correct English form is mule, spelled M-U-L-E.
Definition
- 1The generally sterile male or female hybrid offspring of a male donkey and a female horse.
- 2The generally sterile hybrid offspring of any two species of animals.
- 3A hybrid plant.
- 4A stubborn person.
- 5A person paid to smuggle drugs.
- 6A coin or medal minted with obverse and reverse designs not normally seen on the same piece, either intentionally or in error.
- 7A MMORPG character, or NPC companion in a tabletop RPG, used mainly to store extra inventory for the owner's primary character.
- 8Any of a group of cocktails involving ginger ale or ginger beer, citrus juice, and various liquors.
- 9A kind of triangular sail for a yacht.
- 10A kind of cotton-spinning machine.
Etymology
From Middle English mule, from Anglo-Norman mule and Old English mūl, both from Latin mūlus, from Proto-Indo-European *mukslós. Compare Late Latin muscellus (“young he-mule”), Old East Slavic мъшкъ (mŭškŭ, “mule”), Ancient Greek (Phocian) μυχλός (mukhlós, “he-ass”), and German Maul Maultier, Maulesel (through Latin).
Synonyms
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: mlue,mmule,muel,mulle,umle
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of mule - 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
How do you spell "mule"?
What does "mule" mean?
What words are commonly confused with "mule"?
How do you pronounce "mule"?
What is the origin of the word "mule"?
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Using “mule”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is M-U-L-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /mjuːl/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “mum” - see the side-by-side comparison. mule vs mum
- 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.