tate

/tɔːteɪ/

//tɔːteɪ// noun

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

The verdict

“tate” has 5 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #10,945. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#10,945
frequency rank, English
3,151
“T” headwords
5
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Of video games, a vertical mode.

Corpus desk

Index EN-tate · tate · English

tate · rank #10,945 · 5 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #10,945
  • LEN-MID 4 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 5 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,151
  • PHOTO-FINISH surfing

Nearest frequency peer: surfing (-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 “tate”

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

corpus weight

What this shows Bars show where “tate” 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 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

tate vs te
50% similar
tate vs TT
0% similar
tate vs the
50% similar

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

Key facts for tate
PropertyValue
Headwordtate
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/tɔːteɪ/
Letters4
Frequency rank#10,945
Misspellings tracked5
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “tate” sits in English frequency

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).tatelands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “surfing” (#10,944), “temptation” (#10,946), “sunglasses” (#10,943). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 5 spelling variants around tate (IPA /tɔːteɪ/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #10,945 among 3,151 “T” headwords. Dominant gloss: "Of video games, a vertical mode.".

Our generated misspelling index lists 5 likely wrong-spelling variants for tate, with forms such as "atte", "taet", and "tatte". 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 20 confusable-pair relationships, "te", "TT", "the", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from Japanese 縦 (tate). The correct English form is tate, spelled T-A-T-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Of video games, a vertical mode.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. This is a monitor, not a TV - but I LOVE it for gaming purposes as I can easily rotate the screen. I had to unscrew the rotation mechanism and flip it around so that Tate mode games play the right way up.
  2. Shiki is good, haven;t played that in tate mode yet. I though^([sic]) Psyvariar was boring to begin with - but that was because I just didn;t 'get' the game. Now I love it. Haven;t played that in Tate yet either. Hence the need for a whizz bang TV!

Etymology

Borrowed from Japanese 縦 (tate).

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • atte
  • taet
  • tatte
  • ttae
  • ttate

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

atte2taet2tatte1ttae2ttate1
Edit distance from "tate"

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 "tate"?
"tate" is spelled T-A-T-E. The IPA pronunciation is /tɔːteɪ/.
What does "tate" mean?
As a noun, "tate" means: Of video games, a vertical mode.
What words are commonly confused with "tate"?
"tate" is commonly confused with "te", "TT", "the". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "tate"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "tate" is /tɔːteɪ/. 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 "tate"?
Borrowed from Japanese 縦 (tate). 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 "tate", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

Similar misspelling depth

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

What to do next

You've looked up "tate". Here's where to go from here.

  • "tate" maps to 20 confusable pairs in this vintage; the highest-scored is "te". View pair
  • 5 edit-distance misspelling variants are generated for spell-check research on this headword. See variants
  • Usage frequency rank #10,945 among English headwords in this corpus. Corpus statistics
  • Browse more English words in the "T" letter cohort. T–Z browse
  • PlainSpell rotates a curated Word of the Day from the English corpus, a passive way to discover vocabulary. Word of the Day

PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.

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