true

/tɹuː/

//tɹuː// adj

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

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

The verdict

“true” has 5 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #393. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#393
frequency rank, English
3,151
“T” headwords
5
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Conforming to the actual state of reality or fact; factually correct.

Corpus desk

Index EN-true · true · English

true · rank #393 · 5 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-CORE #393
  • LEN-MID 4 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 5 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,151
  • PHOTO-FINISH south

Nearest frequency peer: south (-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 “true”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “true” 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).

true vs Tu
25% similar
true vs try
50% similar
true vs tub
50% similar

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

Key facts for true
PropertyValue
Headwordtrue
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/tɹuː/
Letters4
Frequency rank#393
Misspellings tracked5
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “true”

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).truelands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “south” (#392), “we're” (#394), “problem” (#391). Among 3,151 “T” headwords, “true” is #393. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 5 spelling variants around true (IPA /tɹuː/), anadjective. Corpus frequency is #393 among 3,151 “T” headwords. Wiktionary lists 11 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 5 likely wrong-spelling variants for true, with forms such as "rtue", "treu", and "trrue". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "Tu", "try", "tub", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English trewe, from Old English trīewe, (Mercian) trēowe (“trusty, faithful”), from Proto-Germanic *triwwiz (compare Saterland Frisian trjou (“honest”), Dutch getrouw and trouw, German treu, Norwegian and Swedish trygg (“safe, secure’”)), from p… The correct English form is true, spelled T-R-U-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Conforming to the actual state of reality or fact; factually correct.
  2. 2
    Conforming to the actual state of reality or fact; factually correct.
  3. 3
    Conforming to a rule or pattern; exact; accurate.
  4. 4
    Of the state in Boolean logic that indicates an affirmative or positive result.
  5. 5
    Loyal, faithful.
  6. 6
    Genuine; legitimate; valid; sensu stricto.
  7. 7
    Genuine; legitimate; valid; sensu stricto.
  8. 8
    Accurate; following a path toward the target.
  9. 9
    Correctly aligned or calibrated, without deviation.
  10. 10
    Fair, unbiased, not loaded.
  11. 11
    based on actual historical events.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. This is a true story.
  2. The humor of my proposition appealed more strongly to Miss Trevor than I had looked for, and from that time forward she became her old self again;[…]. Now she had come to look upon the matter in its true proportions, and her anticipation of a possible chance of teaching him a lesson was a pleasure to behold.

Etymology

From Middle English trewe, from Old English trīewe, (Mercian) trēowe (“trusty, faithful”), from Proto-Germanic *triwwiz (compare Saterland Frisian trjou (“honest”), Dutch getrouw and trouw, German treu, Norwegian and Swedish trygg (“safe, secure’”)), from pre-Germanic *drewh₂yos, from Proto-Indo-European *drewh₂- (“steady, firm”) (compare Irish dearbh (“sure”), Old Prussian druwis (“faith”), Ancient Greek δροόν (droón, “firm”)), extension of *dóru (“tree”) (possibly also Proto-Slavic *sъdorvъ (“healthy”) from the same root). More at tree. For the semantic development, compare Latin robustus (“tough”) from robur (“red oak”).

This word in other languages

cierto(Español)vrai(Français)wahr(Deutsch)verdadeiro(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • rtue
  • treu
  • trrue
  • ttrue
  • ture

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

rtue2treu2trrue1ttrue1ture2
Edit distance from "true"

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 "true"?
"true" is spelled T-R-U-E. The IPA pronunciation is /tɹuː/.
What does "true" mean?
As an adjective, "true" means: Conforming to the actual state of reality or fact; factually correct.
What words are commonly confused with "true"?
"true" is commonly confused with "Tu", "try", "tub". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "true"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "true" is /tɹuː/. 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 "true"?
From Middle English trewe, from Old English trīewe, (Mercian) trēowe (“trusty, faithful”), from Proto-Germanic *triwwiz (compare Saterland Frisian trjou (“honest”), Dutch getrouw and trouw, German treu, Norwegian and Swedish trygg (“safe, secure’”... 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 "true", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

fuck#396food#386lost#400room#403

Similar misspelling depth

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

body5 variantselse5 variantspost5 variantsyeah5 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list