tell

Name: tell, English Word Data
Creator: Wiktionary
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

[tʰɔː]

/[tʰɔː]/ verb

By PlainSpell · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) · analyzed September 3, 2026

The verdict

“tell” sits in 20 confusable pairs (corpus #277) as a verb. The look-alike neighbours are the real trap.

#277
frequency rank, English: 3,151
“T” headwords: 3
tracked misspellings: 20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Mental senses related to determining, reckoning, or perceiving

Corpus desk

Index EN-tell · tell · English

tell · rank #277 · 3 variants · 20 confusables

FREQ-CORE #277
LEN-MID 4 letters
VOW-1 1 vowel
CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
VAR-LOW 3 variants
BOOK-MID 3,151
PHOTO-FINISH support

Nearest frequency peer: support (-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.

mean

99,727
once

99,726
support

99,725
tell

99,724
including

99,723
music

99,722

What this shows Bars show where “tell” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

tell vs TL

0% similar

tell vs ten

50% similar

tell vs Tex

25% similar

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

Key facts for tell
Property	Value
Headword	tell
Language	English
Part of speech	Verb
IPA	[tʰɔː]
Letters	4
Frequency rank	#277
Misspellings tracked	3
Confusable pairs	20
Source	Wiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “tell” 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). tell lands here:

#277

#1#100#1K#10K#100K

← used constantlyrarely used →

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

Easy to mix with look-alikes

The spelling risk for tell is neighbouring look-alikes ("TL", "ten", …), not just typos; it is averb pronounced [tʰɔː]. Frequency #277 among 3,151 “T” headwords. 13 recorded senses keep meaning in play.

Our generated misspelling index lists 3 likely wrong-spelling variants for tell, with forms such as "etll", "tlel", and "ttell". 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, "TL", "ten", "Tex", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English tellen (“to count, tell”), from Old English tellan (“to count, tell”), from Proto-West Germanic *talljan, from Proto-Germanic *taljaną, *talzijaną (“to count, enumerate”), from Proto-Germanic *talą, *talō (“number, counting”), from Proto… The correct English form is tell, spelled T-E-L-L.

Definition

1
Mental senses related to determining, reckoning, or perceiving
2
Mental senses related to determining, reckoning, or perceiving
3
Mental senses related to determining, reckoning, or perceiving
4
Social senses of communicating
5
Social senses of communicating
6
Social senses of communicating
7
Social senses of communicating
8
Social senses of communicating
9
Social senses of communicating
10
Social senses of communicating
11
Abstract senses related to showing or revealing
12
Abstract senses related to showing or revealing
13
Abstract senses related to showing or revealing

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

All told, there were over a dozen. Can you tell time on a clock? He had untold wealth.
And in his lap a masse of coyne he told, And turned vpsidowne, to feede his eye A couetous desire with his huge threasury.

Etymology

From Middle English tellen (“to count, tell”), from Old English tellan (“to count, tell”), from Proto-West Germanic *talljan, from Proto-Germanic *taljaną, *talzijaną (“to count, enumerate”), from Proto-Germanic *talą, *talō (“number, counting”), from Proto-Indo-European *dol- (“calculation, fraud”). Cognate with Saterland Frisian tälle (“to say; tell”), West Frisian telle (“to count”), West Frisian fertelle (“to tell, narrate”), Dutch tellen (“to count”) and Dutch vertellen (“to tell”), Low German tellen (“to count”), German zählen, Faroese telja. More at tale.

Synonyms

count number count narrate recount relate advise apprise disclose make known grass up snitch tattle

Antonyms

ask

This word in other languages

decir(Español)dire(Français)sagen(Deutsch)contar(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

etll
tlel
ttell

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of tell - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

Edit distance from "tell"

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 3, 2026. Primary sources: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) and FrequencyWords.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "tell"?

"tell" is spelled T-E-L-L. The IPA pronunciation is [tʰɔː].

What does "tell" mean?

As a verb, "tell" means: Mental senses related to determining, reckoning, or perceiving

What words are commonly confused with "tell"?

"tell" is commonly confused with "TL", "ten", "Tex". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.

How do you pronounce "tell"?

The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "tell" is [tʰɔː]. 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 "tell"?

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 "tell", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

once#275 mean#274 hard#273 seen#281

What to do next

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

"tell" maps to 20 confusable pairs in this vintage; the highest-scored is "TL". View pair
3 edit-distance misspelling variants are generated for spell-check research on this headword. See variants
Usage frequency rank #277 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.