tale

/ˈteːl/

//ˈteːl// noun

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

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

The verdict

“tale” has 5 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #4,416. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#4,416
frequency rank, English
3,151
“T” headwords
5
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 2, 2026) - A rehearsal of what has occurred; narrative; discourse; statement; history; story.

Corpus desk

Index EN-tale · tale · English

tale · rank #4,416 · 5 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #4,416
  • LEN-MID 4 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 5 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,151
  • PHOTO-FINISH tables

Nearest frequency peer: tables (-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 “tale”

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

corpus weight

What this shows Bars show where “tale” 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).

tale vs te
50% similar
tale vs TL
0% similar
tale vs the
50% similar

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

Key facts for tale
PropertyValue
Headwordtale
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈteːl/
Letters4
Frequency rank#4,416
Misspellings tracked5
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “tale” 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). tale lands here:

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

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

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 5 spelling variants around tale (IPA /ˈteːl/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #4,416 among 3,151 “T” headwords. Wiktionary lists 11 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 5 likely wrong-spelling variants for tale, with forms such as "atle", "tael", and "talle". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "te", "TL", "the", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English tale, from Old English talu (“tale, series, calculation”), from Proto-West Germanic *talu, from Proto-Germanic *talō (“calculation, number”), from Proto-Indo-European *del- (“to reckon, count”). Cognate with West Frisian taal (“speech, l… The correct English form is tale, spelled T-A-L-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    A rehearsal of what has occurred; narrative; discourse; statement; history; story.
  2. 2
    A number told or counted off; a reckoning by count; an enumeration.
  3. 3
    The fraudulent opportunity presented by a confidence man to the mark or victim.
  4. 4
    An account of an asserted fact or circumstance; a rumour; a report, especially an idle or malicious story; a piece of gossip or slander; a lie.
  5. 5
    Number; tally; quota.
  6. 6
    Account; estimation; regard; heed.
  7. 7
    Speech; language.
  8. 8
    A speech; a statement; talk; conversation; discourse.
  9. 9
    A count; declaration.
  10. 10
    A number of things considered as an aggregate; sum.
  11. 11
    A report of any matter; a relation; a version.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. the Canterbury Tales
  2. And every shepherd tells his tale Under the hawthorn in the dale.

Etymology

From Middle English tale, from Old English talu (“tale, series, calculation”), from Proto-West Germanic *talu, from Proto-Germanic *talō (“calculation, number”), from Proto-Indo-European *del- (“to reckon, count”). Cognate with West Frisian taal (“speech, language”), Dutch taal (“language, speech”), German Zahl (“number, figure”), Danish tale (“speech”), Icelandic tala (“speech, talk, discourse, number, figure”), Latin dolus (“guile, deceit, fraud”), Ancient Greek δόλος (dólos, “wile, bait”), Albanian ndjell (“to lure”), Northern Kurdish til (“finger”), Old Armenian տող (toł, “row”). Related to tell, talk.

This word in other languages

cuento(Español)conte(Français)Märchen(Deutsch)conto(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • atle
  • tael
  • talle
  • tlae
  • ttale

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

atle2tael2talle1tlae2ttale1
Edit distance from "tale"

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 "tale"?
"tale" is spelled T-A-L-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈteːl/.
What does "tale" mean?
As a noun, "tale" means: A rehearsal of what has occurred; narrative; discourse; statement; history; story.
What words are commonly confused with "tale"?
"tale" is commonly confused with "te", "TL", "the". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "tale"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "tale" is /ˈteːl/. 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 "tale"?
From Middle English tale, from Old English talu (“tale, series, calculation”), from Proto-West Germanic *talu, from Proto-Germanic *talō (“calculation, number”), from Proto-Indo-European *del- (“to reckon, count”). Cognate with West Frisian taal (... 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 "tale", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

sole#4,411wore#4,422bass#4,427rely#4,405

Similar misspelling depth

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

Lisa5 variantsdual5 variantsfool5 variantsLMAO5 variants
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