bupkis
/ˈbʌp.kɪs/noun
bupkis is spelled B-U-P-K-I-S: 6 letters. It appears about once in every 46 million words in written English, the 209,386th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, bupkis means “Absolutely nothing; nothing of value, significance, or substance” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in bupkis?
| Letters | 6: B-U-P-K-I-S |
|---|---|
| In writing | about once in every 46 million words; the 209,386th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in 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).
How common is bupkis?
Bupkis appears about once in every 46 million words in written English, the 209,386th 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 bupkis?
- /ˈbʌp.kɪs/
- /ˈbɔp.kɪs/
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-bupkiss.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of bupkis
- bobkes
- bobkis
- bopkes
- bopkus
- bubkes
- bubkess
- bubkis
- bubkiss
- bumpkiss
- bupkas
- bupkass
- bupkes
- bupkiss
- bupkus
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does bupkis mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
USslangAbsolutely nothing; nothing of value, significance, or substance.
We searched for hours and found bupkis.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Bupkis in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense absolutely nothing:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| German | gar nichts |
| Spanish | nada |
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 bupkis come from?
Borrowed prior to 1931 from Yiddish באָבקעס (bobkes), plural of באָבקע (bobke, “goat or sheep dropping”), from באָב (bob, “bean”) + ־קע (-ke) calquing Polish bobek (“oval-shaped turd”), ultimately from Proto-Slavic *bobъ (“bean, fava bean”). Popularized by American Jewish writer Sam Denoff in mid-1960s The Dick Van Dyke Show.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).