Ismail

\is.ma.il\

/\is.ma.il\/ name

The verdict

“Ismail” is a moderately-common French word, ranked #46,244 in French word frequency and used as a proper noun.

#46,244
frequency rank, French
6
letters
8
tracked misspellings
3
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Nom de famille d’origine arabe.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

Ismail vs Israel
67% similar
Ismail vs Isaïe
50% similar
Ismail vs Ismaël
83% similar

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

Key facts for Ismail
PropertyValue
HeadwordIsmail
LanguageFrench
Part of speechProper noun
IPA\is.ma.il\
Letters6
Frequency rank#46,244
Misspellings tracked8
Confusable pairs3
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “Ismail” sits in French 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). Ismail lands here:

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

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

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The French entry for Ismail is 6 letters long, classified as a proper noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as \is.ma.il\. Corpus data places it at rank #46,244 in overall French word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. The dominant gloss from Wiktionary reads: "Nom de famille d’origine arabe.".

Our generated misspelling index lists 8 likely wrong-spelling variants for Ismail, with forms such as "imsail", "isamil", and "ismaill". 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 3 confusable-pair relationships, "Israel", "Isaïe", "Ismaël", a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

No borrowing history is documented for this entry, so its spelling is easiest explained by how it's pronounced rather than where it came from. The correct French form is Ismail, spelled I-S-M-A-I-L.

Definition

  1. 1
    Nom de famille d’origine arabe.

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: imsail,isamil,ismaill,ismali,ismial,ismmail,issmail,simail

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

imsail2isamil2ismaill1ismali2ismial2ismmail1issmail1simail2
Edit distance from "Ismail"

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

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "Ismail"?
"Ismail" is spelled I-S-M-A-I-L. The IPA pronunciation is \is.ma.il\.
What does "Ismail" mean?
As a proper noun, "Ismail" means: Nom de famille d’origine arabe.
What words are commonly confused with "Ismail"?
"Ismail" is commonly confused with "Israel", "Isaïe", "Ismaël". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "Ismail"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "Ismail" is \is.ma.il\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "Ismail" come from?
"Ismail" is a French 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.

Using “Ismail”

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

  • The one correct French spelling is I-S-M-A-I-L - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as \is.ma.il\ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “Israel” - see the side-by-side comparison. Ismail vs Israel
  • Browse more French words and confusable pairs in the same reference. French words
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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list