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PlainSpell

candy

/ˈkæn.di/noun, verb

candy is spelled C-A-N-D-Y: 5 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 19 times per million words in written English, the 4,365th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data, counting Candy, the name). As a noun, candy means “Crystallized sugar formed by boiling down sugar syrup” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of candy is candies.

How many letters and syllables are in candy?

Letters5: C-A-N-D-Y
Syllables2 (from its American pronunciation)
In writing19 times per million words; the 4,365th most frequent word form
Wrong spellings searchednone measured in search
Same letters

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); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.

How common is candy?

Candy appears 19 times per million words in written English, the 4,365th most frequent word form in the list. The list counts every capitalisation together, so this includes Candy, the name.

Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).

How do you pronounce candy?

  • /ˈkæn.di/

Candy 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-candy.ogg, LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-candy.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).

Words people confuse with candy

Also written: kandi, kandy.

Sources: English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).

What rhymes with candy?

No other word on PlainSpell ends in the same sounds as candy.

Spelled with the same letters in another order: dancy.

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 candy

  • candies plural, present, singular, he/she/it
  • kandi
  • candying participle, present
  • candied participle, past
  • candee
  • candie
  • candil
  • kandy

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What does candy mean?

The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).

noun

  1. 1

    Crystallized sugar formed by boiling down sugar syrup.

  2. 2

    CanadaUSEdible, sweet-tasting confectionery containing sugar, or sometimes artificial sweeteners, and often flavored with fruit, chocolate, nuts, herbs and spices, or artificial flavors.

  3. 3

    CanadaUSA piece of confectionery of this kind.

  4. 4

    USslangcrack cocaine.

  5. 5

    An accessory (bracelet, etc.) made from pony beads, associated with the rave scene.

    candy kid; candy raver

  6. 6

    obsoleteA unit of weight used in southern India, equal to twenty maunds, roughly equal to 500 pounds avoirdupois but varying locally.

verb

  1. 1

    To cook in or coat with sugar syrup.

  2. 2

    To form into congelations or crystals, especially of sugar or syrup.

    Fruits preserved in sugar candy over time.

  3. 3

    To become candy; to solidify into a candylike form or mass.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

Candy in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese

LanguageWords
Frenchbonbon, sucrerie, dragée (piece of candy), candir, confire (to cook, or coat with sugar or syrup)
GermanSüßigkeit, Konfekt, Bonbon (piece of candy), kandieren (to cook, or coat with sugar or syrup), Candy (unit of weight)
Portugueserebuçado, bombom, doce, bala, confeito, docinho (piece of candy)
Spanishcaramelo, dulce, confite, golosina, dragea, cotufa (piece of candy)

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 candy come from?

From Middle English sugre candy, from Old French sucre candi (literally “candied sugar”), from Arabic سُكَّر قَنْدِي (sukkar qandī), from Arabic قَنْد (qand, “rock candy”), from Persian کند (kand) from Sanskrit खण्ड (khaṇḍa, “piece, fragment, candied sugar, dried molasses”), root खण्ड् (khaṇḍ, “to divide, break into pieces”), or from Proto-Dravidian *kaṇṭu; compare Tamil கண்டு (kaṇṭu, “hard candy”).

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What to look up after candy