tale

[ˈt̪ale]

/[ˈt̪ale]/ verb

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

The verdict

“tale” sits in 20 confusable pairs (corpus #49,971) as a verb. The look-alike neighbours are the real trap.

#49,971
frequency rank, Spanish
3,005
“T” headwords
4
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Primera persona del singular (yo) del presente de subjuntivo de talar o de talarse.

Corpus desk

Index ES-tale · tale · Spanish

tale · rank #49,971 · 4 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #49,971
  • LEN-MID 4 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-LOW 4 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,005
  • PHOTO-FINISH tabacalera

Nearest frequency peer: tabacalera (-1 rank slots)

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.

Frequency neighbourhood for “tale”

Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)

corpus weight

What this shows Bars show where “tale” sits against the nearest ranked Spanish headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.

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).

tale vs té
25% similar
tale vs tan
50% similar
tale vs the
50% similar

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

Key facts for tale
PropertyValue
Headwordtale
LanguageSpanish
Part of speechVerb
IPA[ˈt̪ale]
Letters4
Frequency rank#49,971
Misspellings tracked4
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “tale” sits in Spanish 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). tale lands here:

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

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

Easy to mix with look-alikes

The spelling risk for tale is neighbouring look-alikes ("té", "tan", …), not just typos; it is averb pronounced [ˈt̪ale]. Frequency #49,971 among 3,005 “T” headwords. 3 recorded senses keep meaning in play.

Our generated misspelling index lists 4 likely wrong-spelling variants for tale, with forms such as "atle", "tael", and "tlae". 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, "té", "tan", "the", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

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 Spanish form is tale, spelled T-A-L-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Primera persona del singular (yo) del presente de subjuntivo de talar o de talarse.
  2. 2
    Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del presente de subjuntivo de talar o de talarse.
  3. 3
    Segunda persona del singular (usted) del imperativo de talar o del imperativo negativo de talarse.

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • atle
  • tael
  • tlae
  • ttale

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

atle2tael2tlae2ttale1
Edit distance from "tale"

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 Spanish corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

PlainSpell is rendered directly from structured Wiktionary extracts and open word-frequency lists, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of September 3, 2026. Primary sources: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) and FrequencyWords.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "tale"?
"tale" is spelled T-A-L-E. The IPA pronunciation is [ˈt̪ale].
What does "tale" mean?
As a verb, "tale" means: Primera persona del singular (yo) del presente de subjuntivo de talar o de talarse.
What words are commonly confused with "tale"?
"tale" is commonly confused with "té", "tan", "the". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "tale"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "tale" is [ˈt̪ale]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "tale" come from?
"tale" is a Spanish word. PlainSpell's reference spans five languages -- English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German -- with definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for each.
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 Spanish words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "tale", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

tapo#49,973task#49,974toys#49,989stem#49,952

What to do next

You've looked up "tale". Here's where to go from here.

  • "tale" maps to 20 confusable pairs in this vintage; the highest-scored is "té". View pair
  • 4 edit-distance misspelling variants are generated for spell-check research on this headword. See variants
  • Usage frequency rank #49,971 among Spanish headwords in this corpus. Corpus statistics
  • Browse more Spanish words in the "T" letter cohort. T–Z browse

PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.

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