anecdote
a·nec·dote/ˈæn.ɪkˌdəʊt/noun, verb
anecdote is spelled A-N-E-C-D-O-T-E: 8 letters and 3 syllables (a·nec·dote). It appears 1.6 times per million words in written English, the 22,362nd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). People search “anecdote vs antidote” about 590 times a month (Google, United States). As a noun, anecdote means “A short account of a real incident or person, often humorous or interesting” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of anecdote is anecdotes.
How many letters and syllables are in anecdote?
| Letters | 8: A-N-E-C-D-O-T-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3: a·nec·dote |
| In writing | 1.6 times per million words; the 22,362nd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Pairs people search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026).
How common is anecdote?
Anecdote appears 1.6 times per million words in written English, the 22,362nd 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 anecdote?
- UK /ˈæn.ɪkˌdəʊt/
- Australia [ˈæn.ɪkˌdəʉt]
- [ˈɛn.əkˌdɐʉt]
Anecdote has 3 syllables, split a·nec·dote in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-anecdote.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with anecdote
Word pairs people search, with the monthly searches for “a vs b” (G: Google, B: Bing, United States).
Sources: Google and Bing searches (September 2025 to August 2026, through DataForSEO); English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
Forms of anecdote
- anecdotes plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- anecdota
- anecdoton
- anecdotum
- anecdoting participle, present
- anecdoted participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does anecdote mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A short account of a real incident or person, often humorous or interesting.
tell an anecdote
- 2
An account which supports an argument, but which is not supported by scientific or statistical analysis.
- 3
A previously untold secret account of an incident.
verb
- 1
To tell anecdotes (about).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Anecdote in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense short account of an incident:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | anecdote |
| German | Anekdote |
| Portuguese | anedota |
| Spanish | anécdota, chascarrillo |
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 anecdote come from?
Late 17ᵗʰ c., from French anecdote, from Ancient Greek ἀνέκδοτος (anékdotos, “accounts unpublished”), from ἀν- (an-, “not, un-”) + ἔκδοτος (ékdotos, “published”), from ἐκδίδωμι (ekdídōmi, “I publish”), from ἐκ- (ek-, “out”) + δίδωμι (dídōmi, “I give”). Virtually identical cognates in other European languages – French anecdote, German Anekdote, Spanish anécdota, among others.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).