tablature

/ˈtæblət͡ʃɜ/

//ˈtæblət͡ʃɜ// noun

"tablature" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“tablature” is uncommon English (frequency #95,484 among 3,151 “T” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#95,484
frequency rank, English
3,151
“T” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A form of musical notation indicating fingering rather than the pitch of notes, commonly used for stringed instruments.

Corpus desk

Index EN-tablature · tablature · English

tablature · rank #95,484 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #95,484
  • LEN-LONG 9 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,151
  • PHOTO-FINISH Taconic

Nearest frequency peer: Taconic (+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.

Long-tail ranks near “tablature”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “tablature” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for tablature
PropertyValue
Headwordtablature
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈtæblət͡ʃɜ/
Letters9
Frequency rank#95,484
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “tablature” in English

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).tablaturefalls in this rarity band:

#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. Rare peers in the same band: “Taconic” (#95,485), “syntactical” (#95,482), “synecdoche” (#95,481). Among 3,151 “T” headwords, “tablature” is #95,484. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

tablature is uncommon English at frequency #95,484 among 3,151 “T” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈtæblət͡ʃɜ/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.

No misspelling variants are generated for tablature in our index, suggesting the orthography follows predictable English patterns. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.

Etymologically, the entry records: From French, from Italian tavolatura, from Latin tabulatura, from tabula. The correct English form is tablature, spelled T-A-B-L-A-T-U-R-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    A form of musical notation indicating fingering rather than the pitch of notes, commonly used for stringed instruments.
  2. 2
    An engraved tablet, or a painting on a wall or ceiling, or sometimes a picture in general.
  3. 3
    A division of the skull into two tables.

Etymology

From French, from Italian tavolatura, from Latin tabulatura, from tabula.

Synonyms

This word in other languages

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 "tablature"?
"tablature" is spelled T-A-B-L-A-T-U-R-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈtæblət͡ʃɜ/.
What does "tablature" mean?
As a noun, "tablature" means: A form of musical notation indicating fingering rather than the pitch of notes, commonly used for stringed instruments.
How do you pronounce "tablature"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "tablature" is /ˈtæblət͡ʃɜ/. 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 "tablature"?
From French, from Italian tavolatura, from Latin tabulatura, from tabula. 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 "tablature", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 9 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list