abba
/ˈæb.ə/noun
abba is spelled A-B-B-A: 4 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 1.4 times per million words in written English, the 23,835th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, abba means “Father; religious superior; in the Syriac, Coptic, and Ethiopic churches, a title given to the bishops, and by the bishops to the patriarch; a title…” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of abba is abbas.
How many letters and syllables are in abba?
| Letters | 4: A-B-B-A |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 1.4 times per million words; the 23,835th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Same letters |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is abba?
Abba appears 1.4 times per million words in written English, the 23,835th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce abba?
- UK /ˈæb.ə/
- UK /æˈbɑ/
- US /ˈæb.ə/
Abba has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-abba.wav, En-ca-abba.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with abba
Also written: aba.
Sources: English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
What rhymes with abba?
No other word on PlainSpell ends in the same sounds as abba (/æbə/).
Spelled with the same letters in another order: baba.
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of abba
- abbas plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does abba mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
Father; religious superior; in the Syriac, Coptic, and Ethiopic churches, a title given to the bishops, and by the bishops to the patriarch; a title given to Jewish scholars in the Talmudic period.
- 2
Alternative form of aba (Middle Eastern garment).
noun
- 1
Father, an honorific title given to God in the New Testament, especially used in prayers.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Where does abba come from?
From Middle English, from Latin, from Ancient Greek, from Aramaic אבא/ܐܒܐ (ʼaḇā, “father”); see abbot, Abraham for more.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).