tefillin

/təˈfɪlɪn/

//təˈfɪlɪn// noun

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

The verdict

“tefillin” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency English
8
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - plural of tefilla

Corpus desk

Index EN-tefillin · tefillin · English

tefillin · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "T" thin
  • PHOTO-UNK Peer pending

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.

Key facts for tefillin
PropertyValue
Headwordtefillin
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/təˈfɪlɪn/
Letters8
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “tefillin” in English

tefillinranks outside the top 100,000 English headwords, in the long tail of specialist, archaic, or seldom-used vocabulary, exactly the territory where a reader stops mid-sentence to double-check spelling.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

tefillin is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed /təˈfɪlɪn/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "plural of tefilla".

tefillin has no tracked misspelling variants, a straightforward case of a spelling with little room for common typos. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.

Wiktionary doesn't record an etymology for this headword, so spelling patterns must be inferred from the word's phoneme-to-grapheme mapping rather than from a documented borrowing chain. The correct English form is tefillin, spelled T-E-F-I-L-L-I-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    plural of tefilla

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "tefillin"?
"tefillin" is spelled T-E-F-I-L-L-I-N. The IPA pronunciation is /təˈfɪlɪn/.
What does "tefillin" mean?
As a noun, "tefillin" means: plural of tefilla
How do you pronounce "tefillin"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "tefillin" is /təˈfɪlɪn/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "tefillin" come from?
"tefillin" is a English word. PlainSpell's reference spans five languages -- English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German -- with definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for each.
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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list