bookish
/ˈbʊkɪʃ/adjective
bookish is spelled B-O-O-K-I-S-H: 7 letters and 2 syllables. It appears about once in every 3 million words in written English, the 48,775th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, bookish means “Fond of reading or studying, especially said of someone lacking social skills as a result” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in bookish?
| Letters | 7: B-O-O-K-I-S-H |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 3 million words; the 48,775th 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 bookish?
Bookish appears about once in every 3 million words in written English, the 48,775th 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 bookish?
- US /ˈbʊkɪʃ/
- British /ˈbɵkɪʃ/
- Australia /ˈbʊkəʃ/
Bookish 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: En-au-bookish.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of bookish
- more bookish comparative
- most bookish superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does bookish mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Fond of reading or studying, especially said of someone lacking social skills as a result.
- 2
Characterized by a method of expression generally found in books.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Bookish in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | bouquineur, rat de bibliothèque , scolaire, pédant, formaliste, littéraire |
| Spanish | estudioso, matado, mateo, empollón , literario, pedante |
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 bookish come from?
From book + -ish.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).