calling
/ˈkɔːlɪŋ/noun, verb
calling is spelled C-A-L-L-I-N-G: 7 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 91 times per million words in written English, the 1,167th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, calling means “A strong urge (to do some particular thing with or in one's life, for example to become religious, to help the poor, or to be an entertainer)” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of calling is callings.
How many letters and syllables are in calling?
| Letters | 7: C-A-L-L-I-N-G |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 91 times per million words; the 1,167th 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 calling?
Calling appears 91 times per million words in written English, the 1,167th 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 calling?
- UK /ˈkɔːlɪŋ/
- UK [kʰolɪŋ]
- /kaːlɪn/
Calling 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-us-calling.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of calling
- callings plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does calling mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A strong urge (to do some particular thing with or in one's life, for example to become religious, to help the poor, or to be an entertainer).
- 2
A job or occupation.
verb
- 1
present participle and gerund of call
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Calling in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| Spanish | vocación, llamado, llamamiento , pegarle a |
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 calling come from?
From Middle English calling, callynge, equivalent to call + -ing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).