tribal

/ˈtɹaɪbəl/

//ˈtɹaɪbəl// adj

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

"tribal" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“tribal” has 9 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #6,849. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#6,849
frequency rank, English
3,151
“T” headwords
9
tracked misspellings
10
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Of or relating to tribes.

Corpus desk

Index EN-tribal · tribal · English

tribal · rank #6,849 · 9 variants · 10 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #6,849
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 10 pairs
  • VAR-MID 9 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,151
  • PHOTO-FINISH tires

Nearest frequency peer: tires (-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 “tribal”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “tribal” 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).

tribal vs tribe
67% similar
tribal vs trill
67% similar
tribal vs tubal
67% similar

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

Key facts for tribal
PropertyValue
Headwordtribal
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/ˈtɹaɪbəl/
Letters6
Frequency rank#6,849
Misspellings tracked9
Confusable pairs10
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “tribal”

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).triballands 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 “tires” (#6,848), “tribes” (#6,850), “tin” (#6,847). Among 3,151 “T” headwords, “tribal” is #6,849. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 9 spelling variants around tribal (IPA /ˈtɹaɪbəl/), anadjective. Corpus frequency is #6,849 among 3,151 “T” headwords. Wiktionary lists 4 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 9 likely wrong-spelling variants for tribal, with forms such as "rtibal", "tirbal", and "trbial". 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 10 confusable-pair relationships, "tribe", "trill", "tubal", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Latin tribālis. By surface analysis, tribe + -al, first attested in the 1630s. The specific adjectival sense under the defunct theory of recapitulation derives from tribal history as an overly literal learned borrowing from German Stammesgeschichte; or… The correct English form is tribal, spelled T-R-I-B-A-L.

Definition

  1. 1
    Of or relating to tribes.
  2. 2
    Based on or organized according to tribes.
  3. 3
    Phylogenic.
  4. 4
    Incorporating designs or styles typical of an indigenous people.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. social order through tribal law
  2. a tribal society

Etymology

From Latin tribālis. By surface analysis, tribe + -al, first attested in the 1630s. The specific adjectival sense under the defunct theory of recapitulation derives from tribal history as an overly literal learned borrowing from German Stammesgeschichte; ordinarily, Stamm would only be translated as tribe when used in its ethnographic sense.

This word in other languages

tribal(Español)tribal(Français)Stammes-(Deutsch)tribal(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • rtibal
  • tirbal
  • trbial
  • triabl
  • triball
  • tribbal
  • tribla
  • trribal
  • ttribal

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

rtibal2tirbal2trbial2triabl2triball1tribbal1tribla2trribal1
Edit distance from "tribal"

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 "tribal"?
"tribal" is spelled T-R-I-B-A-L. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈtɹaɪbəl/.
What does "tribal" mean?
As an adjective, "tribal" means: Of or relating to tribes.
What words are commonly confused with "tribal"?
"tribal" is commonly confused with "tribe", "trill", "tubal". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "tribal"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "tribal" is /ˈtɹaɪbəl/. 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 "tribal"?
From Latin tribālis. By surface analysis, tribe + -al, first attested in the 1630s. The specific adjectival sense under the defunct theory of recapitulation derives from tribal history as an overly literal learned borrowing from German Stammesgesc... 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 "tribal", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

tribes#6,850varied#6,854suited#6,841anchor#6,862

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (9 here; floor ≥5).

shipped9 variantsreject9 variantsbullets9 variantschairs9 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list