what'll

/ˈwɒtəl/

//ˈwɒtəl// contraction

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

The verdict

“what'll” is uncommon English (frequency #52,098 among 12,113 “W” headwords), classed as a contraction. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#52,098
frequency rank, English
12,113
“W” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Shortened form of what will and what shall

Key facts for what'll
PropertyValue
Headwordwhat'll
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechContraction
IPA/ˈwɒtəl/
Letters7
Frequency rank#52,098
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “what'll” 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). what'll lands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

what'll is uncommon English at frequency #52,098 among 12,113 “W” headwords, classed as acontraction, transcribed /ˈwɒtəl/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Shortened form of what will and what shall".

No misspelling variants are generated for what'll in our index, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. Our dataset records no confusable match here, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.

No documented word history exists for this headword, so its spelling is easiest to reason about phoneme by phoneme, absent a documented history. The correct English form is what'll, spelled W-H-A-T-'-L-L.

Definition

  1. 1
    Shortened form of what will and what shall

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 "what'll"?
"what'll" is spelled W-H-A-T-'-L-L. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈwɒtəl/.
What does "what'll" mean?
As a contraction, "what'll" means: Shortened form of what will and what shall
How do you pronounce "what'll"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "what'll" is /ˈwɒtəl/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "what'll" come from?
"what'll" is a English word. PlainSpell covers definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German.
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 “what'll”

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

  • The one correct English spelling is W-H-A-T-'-L-L - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as /ˈwɒtəl/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words

Other uncommon English words near this rank

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