ankh
/ɑ(ː)ŋk/noun
ankh is spelled A-N-K-H: 4 letters and one syllable. It appears about once in every 4 million words in written English, the 61,481st most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, ankh means “A cross shaped like a T with a loop at the top, the Egyptian hieroglyph representing the Egyptian triliteral ꜥnḫ (“life”) and often used as an amulet…” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of ankh is ankhs.
How many letters and syllables are in ankh?
| Letters | 4: A-N-K-H |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 |
| In writing | about once in every 4 million words; the 61,481st most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with | |
| Same letters |
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); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is ankh?
Ankh appears about once in every 4 million words in written English, the 61,481st 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 ankh?
- UK /æŋk/
- US /ɑ(ː)ŋk/
Ankh has one syllable.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-ankh.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with ankh?
8 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as ankh from its last stressed vowel (/ɑŋk/):
Spelled with the same letters in another order: khan, hank.
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 ankh
- ankhs plural
- onch
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does ankh mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A cross shaped like a T with a loop at the top, the Egyptian hieroglyph representing the Egyptian triliteral ꜥnḫ (“life”) and often used as an amulet or charm for this concept.
- 2
A tau cross.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Ankh in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense cross shaped like a T with a loop at the top:
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 ankh come from?
From Egyptian anx-Z1 (ꜥnḫ, “life, to live, symbol for life”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).