tell

[tʰɔː]

/[tʰɔː]/ verb

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

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

The verdict

“tell” is in the everyday core of English, ranked #277 in English word frequency and used as a verb.

#277
frequency rank, English
4
letters
3
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Mental senses related to determining, reckoning, or perceiving

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
PropertyValue
Headwordtell
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA[tʰɔː]
Letters4
Frequency rank#277
Misspellings tracked3
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (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:

#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 tell is 4 letters long, classified as a verb, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as [tʰɔː]. Corpus data places it at rank #277 in overall English word frequency, putting it firmly in the everyday core of the language. Wiktionary records 13 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

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

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

countnumbercountnarraterecountrelateadviseapprisedisclosemake knowngrass upsnitchtattle

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.

etll2tlel2ttell1
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.

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"?
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”), ... 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 “tell”

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

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