telephone

/ˈtɛl.ɪˌfəʊn/

//ˈtɛl.ɪˌfəʊn// noun

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

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

The verdict

“telephone” is a regularly-used English word, ranked #3,587 in English word frequency and used as a noun.

#3,587
frequency rank, English
9
letters
13
tracked misspellings
1
confusable pair

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A telecommunication device (originally mechanical, and now electronic) used for two-way talking with another person (now often shortened to phone).

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

telephone vs telephony
89% similar

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

Key facts for telephone
PropertyValue
Headwordtelephone
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈtɛl.ɪˌfəʊn/
Letters9
Frequency rank#3,587
Misspellings tracked13
Confusable pairs1
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “telephone” 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). telephone 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 telephone is 9 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈtɛl.ɪˌfəʊn/. Corpus data places it at rank #3,587 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 4 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our generated misspelling index lists 13 likely wrong-spelling variants for telephone, with forms such as "etlephone", "teelphone", and "telehpone". 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 1 confusable-pair relationship, "telephony", a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: First used by Alexander Graham Bell in 1876 to refer to the modern instrument, but previous devices had been given this name, which was borrowed from French téléphone. Ultimately from Ancient Greek τῆλε (têle, “afar”) + φωνή (phōnḗ, “voice, sound”). The correct English form is telephone, spelled T-E-L-E-P-H-O-N-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    A telecommunication device (originally mechanical, and now electronic) used for two-way talking with another person (now often shortened to phone).
  2. 2
    The receiver of such a device.
  3. 3
    The game of Chinese whispers.
  4. 4
    Chinese whispers; a situation in which an initial message has been distorted and misunderstood by being passed from person to person.

Etymology

First used by Alexander Graham Bell in 1876 to refer to the modern instrument, but previous devices had been given this name, which was borrowed from French téléphone. Ultimately from Ancient Greek τῆλε (têle, “afar”) + φωνή (phōnḗ, “voice, sound”).

This word in other languages

teléfono(Español)téléphone(Français)Telefon(Deutsch)telefone(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: etlephone,teelphone,telehpone,telephhone,telephnoe,telephoen,telephonne,telepohne,telepphone,tellephone,telpehone,tleephone,ttelephone

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of telephone - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

etlephone2teelphone2telehpone2telephhone1telephnoe2telephoen2telephonne1telepohne2
Edit distance from "telephone"

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 "telephone"?
"telephone" is spelled T-E-L-E-P-H-O-N-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈtɛl.ɪˌfəʊn/.
What does "telephone" mean?
As a noun, "telephone" means: A telecommunication device (originally mechanical, and now electronic) used for two-way talking with another person (now often shortened to phone).
What words are commonly confused with "telephone"?
"telephone" is commonly confused with "telephony". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "telephone"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "telephone" is /ˈtɛl.ɪˌfəʊn/. 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 "telephone"?
First used by Alexander Graham Bell in 1876 to refer to the modern instrument, but previous devices had been given this name, which was borrowed from French téléphone. Ultimately from Ancient Greek τῆλε (têle, “afar”) + φωνή (phōnḗ, “voice, sound”). 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 “telephone”

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

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