# vowel

> English word · Noun · IPA /ˈvaʊ.əl/ · frequency rank #18,991

## Definitions
1. A sound produced by the vocal cords with relatively little restriction of the oral cavity, forming the prominent sound of a syllable.
2. A letter or diacritic representing the sound of a vowel; in English, the vowels are a, e, i, o, u, w (rarely), y (sometimes).

## Etymology
From Middle English vowel, from Old French vouel, a variant of voyeul (whence French voyelle), from Latin vōcālis (“voiced”), itself a semantic loan of Koine Greek φωνῆεν (phōnêen). Doublet of vocal and vocalis.

## Easily confused with
- **vowels** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/vowel-vs-vowels)
- **vol** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/vol-vs-vowel)
- **vow** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/vow-vs-vowel)
- **vel** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/vel-vs-vowel)
- **vote** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/vote-vs-vowel)
- **vole** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/vole-vs-vowel)
- **votes** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/votes-vs-vowel)
- **vocal** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/vocal-vs-vowel)
- **voter** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/voter-vs-vowel)
- **vowed** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/vowed-vs-vowel)
- **Vogel** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/vogel-vs-vowel)

## Common misspellings (7)
`ovwel`, `voewl`, `vowell`, `vowle`, `vowwel`, `vvowel`, `vwoel`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/vowel