amphibian
/æmˈfɪbɪən/adjective, noun
amphibian is spelled A-M-P-H-I-B-I-A-N: 9 letters and 4 syllables. It appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 40,703rd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, amphibian means “Of or relating to the class Amphibia” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in amphibian?
| Letters | 9: A-M-P-H-I-B-I-A-N |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 4 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 2 million words; the 40,703rd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
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).
How common is amphibian?
Amphibian appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 40,703rd 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 amphibian?
- /æmˈfɪbɪən/
Amphibian has 4 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: En-us-amphibian.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of amphibian
- amphibians plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does amphibian mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Of or relating to the class Amphibia.
- 2
Capable of operating on both land and water; amphibious.
- 3
obsoleteHaving two natures.
noun
- 1
An animal of the Amphibia; any vertebrate that does not have amniotic eggs, typically living both on land and in water.
- 2
A vehicle which can operate on both land and water.
- 3
A person with two distinct characters, qualities or identities.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Amphibian in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| German | amphibisch, Amphibien- , Amphibie, Amphibium, Lurch , Amphibienfahrzeug |
| French | amphibien, batracien |
| Portuguese | anfíbio |
| Spanish | anfibio |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does amphibian come from?
Learned borrowing from Latin amphibius [from Ancient Greek ἀμφίβιος (amphíbios), from ἀμφίς (amphís, “of both kinds”) + βίος (bíos, “life”)] + -an.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).