syllable

/ˈsɪl.ə.bəl/

//ˈsɪl.ə.bəl// noun

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

"syllable" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“syllable” has 12 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #19,224. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#19,224
frequency rank, English
6,566
“S” headwords
12
tracked misspellings
4
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A unit of human speech which often forms words corresponding to one opening of the mouth; a vowel and its surrounding consonants.

Corpus desk

Index EN-syllable · syllable · English

syllable · rank #19,224 · 12 variants · 4 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #19,224
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 4 pairs
  • VAR-MID 12 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 6,566
  • PHOTO-FINISH synod

Nearest frequency peer: synod (+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.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “syllable”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “syllable” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

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).

syllable vs syllabus
75% similar
syllable vs syllables
89% similar
syllable vs scalable
75% similar

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

Key facts for syllable
PropertyValue
Headwordsyllable
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈsɪl.ə.bəl/
Letters8
Frequency rank#19,224
Misspellings tracked12
Confusable pairs4
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “syllable”

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).syllablelands 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 “synod” (#19,225), “Taipei” (#19,226), “supervisory” (#19,221). Among 6,566 “S” headwords, “syllable” is #19,224. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 12 spelling variants around syllable (IPA /ˈsɪl.ə.bəl/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #19,224 among 6,566 “S” headwords. Wiktionary lists 3 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 12 likely wrong-spelling variants for syllable, with forms such as "slylable", "ssyllable", and "sylable". 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 4 confusable-pair relationships, "syllabus", "syllables", "scalable", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English syllable, sillable, syllabylle, sylabul, from Anglo-Norman sillable, from Old French sillebe, from Latin syllaba, from Ancient Greek συλλαβή (sullabḗ), from συλλαμβάνω (sullambánō, “to gather together”), from συν- (sun-, “together”) + λα… The correct English form is syllable, spelled S-Y-L-L-A-B-L-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    A unit of human speech which often forms words corresponding to one opening of the mouth; a vowel and its surrounding consonants.
  2. 2
    The written representation of a given pronounced syllable.
  3. 3
    A small part of a sentence or discourse; anything concise or short; a particle.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. I wanted to look up velleity and quotidian and memorize the fuckers for all time, spell them, learn them, pronounce them syllable by syllable—vocalize, phonate, utter the sounds, say the words for all they're worth.
  2. Then let them caſt backe their eyes vnto former generations of men, and marke what was done in the prime of the world. Seth, Enoch, Noah, Sem, Abraham, Iob, and the reſt that liued before any ſyllable of the law of God was written, did they not ſinne as much as wee doe in euery action not commanded?

Etymology

From Middle English syllable, sillable, syllabylle, sylabul, from Anglo-Norman sillable, from Old French sillebe, from Latin syllaba, from Ancient Greek συλλαβή (sullabḗ), from συλλαμβάνω (sullambánō, “to gather together”), from συν- (sun-, “together”) + λαμβάνω (lambánō, “to take”).

This word in other languages

sílaba(Español)syllabe(Français)Silbe(Deutsch)sílaba(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • slylable
  • ssyllable
  • sylable
  • sylalble
  • syllabble
  • syllabel
  • syllablle
  • syllalbe
  • syllbale
  • syllible
  • syyllable
  • ysllable

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of syllable - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

slylable2ssyllable1sylable1sylalble2syllabble1syllabel2syllablle1syllalbe2
Edit distance from "syllable"

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 "syllable"?
"syllable" is spelled S-Y-L-L-A-B-L-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈsɪl.ə.bəl/.
What does "syllable" mean?
As a noun, "syllable" means: A unit of human speech which often forms words corresponding to one opening of the mouth; a vowel and its surrounding consonants.
What words are commonly confused with "syllable"?
"syllable" is commonly confused with "syllabus", "syllables", "scalable". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "syllable"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "syllable" is /ˈsɪl.ə.bəl/. 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 "syllable"?
From Middle English syllable, sillable, syllabylle, sylabul, from Anglo-Norman sillable, from Old French sillebe, from Latin syllaba, from Ancient Greek συλλαβή (sullabḗ), from συλλαμβάνω (sullambánō, “to gather together”), from συν- (sun-, “toget... 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 "syllable", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 8 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

takeaway#19,227steaming#19,216Turnbull#19,236skincare#19,208

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (12 here; floor ≥5).

voicemail12 variantsanalytic12 variantsornament12 variantscomputed12 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list