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” is a regularly-used English word, ranked #4,416 in English word frequency and used as a noun.

#4,416
frequency rank, English
4
letters
5
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A rehearsal of what has occurred; narrative; discourse; statement; history; story.

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.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for tale is 4 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈteːl/. Corpus data places it at rank #4,416 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 11 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 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.

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.

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.

Using “tale”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct English spelling is T-A-L-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as /ˈteːl/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “te” - see the side-by-side comparison. tale vs te
  • 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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list