today

/təˈdeɪ/

//təˈdeɪ// adv

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

"today" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“today” has 7 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #258. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#258
frequency rank, English
3,151
“T” headwords
7
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - On the current day or date.

Corpus desk

Index EN-today · today · English

today · rank #258 · 7 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-CORE #258
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 7 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,151
  • PHOTO-FINISH person

Nearest frequency peer: person (-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.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “today”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “today” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

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).

today vs toy
60% similar
today vs Tony
40% similar
today vs Todd
40% similar

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

Key facts for today
PropertyValue
Headwordtoday
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdverb
IPA/təˈdeɪ/
Letters5
Frequency rank#258
Misspellings tracked7
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “today”

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).todaylands here:

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

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Same rarity band neighbours include “person” (#257), “change” (#259), “nothing” (#256). Among 3,151 “T” headwords, “today” is #258. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 7 spelling variants around today (IPA /təˈdeɪ/), anadverb. Corpus frequency is #258 among 3,151 “T” headwords. Wiktionary lists 3 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 7 likely wrong-spelling variants for today, with forms such as "otday", "tdoay", and "toady". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "toy", "Tony", "Todd", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English today, to-daie, todæig, from Old English tōdæġ, tō dæġe (“today”, literally “on [the/this] day, [this] day forward”), equivalent to to + day. Compare Saterland Frisian däälich (“today”), Dutch vandaag (“today”), Old Saxon hindag (“today”… The correct English form is today, spelled T-O-D-A-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    On the current day or date.
  2. 2
    In the current era; nowadays; these days.
  3. 3
    On the day of a recurring cycle or event which is currently happening.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. I want this done today.
  2. Today, my brother went to the shops.

Etymology

From Middle English today, to-daie, todæig, from Old English tōdæġ, tō dæġe (“today”, literally “on [the/this] day, [this] day forward”), equivalent to to + day. Compare Saterland Frisian däälich (“today”), Dutch vandaag (“today”), Old Saxon hindag (“today”, literally “[this] day forward”), German Low German vandage, vandaag (“today”), Swedish i dag, idag (“today”).

This word in other languages

hoy(Español)aujourd'hui(Français)heute(Deutsch)hoje(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • otday
  • tdoay
  • toady
  • todayy
  • todday
  • todya
  • ttoday

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

otday2tdoay2toady2todayy1todday1todya2ttoday1
Edit distance from "today"

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 "today"?
"today" is spelled T-O-D-A-Y. The IPA pronunciation is /təˈdeɪ/.
What does "today" mean?
As an adverb, "today" means: On the current day or date.
What words are commonly confused with "today"?
"today" is commonly confused with "toy", "Tony", "Todd". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "today"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "today" is /təˈdeɪ/. 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 "today"?
From Middle English today, to-daie, todæig, from Old English tōdæġ, tō dæġe (“today”, literally “on [the/this] day, [this] day forward”), equivalent to to + day. Compare Saterland Frisian däälich (“today”), Dutch vandaag (“today”), Old Saxon hinda... 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 "today", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

point#265times#250start#248women#245

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (7 here; floor ≥5).

group7 variantsmusic7 variantspower7 variantsWater7 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list