cannabis
can·na·bis/ˈkæ.nə.bɪs/noun
cannabis is spelled C-A-N-N-A-B-I-S: 8 letters and 3 syllables (can·na·bis). It appears 11 times per million words in written English, the 6,784th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, cannabis means “A tall annual dioecious plant (Cannabis, especially Cannabis sativa), native to central Asia and having alternate, palmately divided leaves and tough…” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of cannabis is cannabises.
How many letters and syllables are in cannabis?
| Letters | 8: C-A-N-N-A-B-I-S |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3: can·na·bis |
| In writing | 11 times per million words; the 6,784th 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 cannabis?
Cannabis appears 11 times per million words in written English, the 6,784th 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 cannabis?
- US /ˈkæ.nə.bɪs/
Cannabis has 3 syllables, split can·na·bis in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-US-cannabis.wav, LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-cannabis.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of cannabis
- cannabises plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does cannabis mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A tall annual dioecious plant (Cannabis, especially Cannabis sativa), native to central Asia and having alternate, palmately divided leaves and tough bast fibers.
- 2
A mildly euphoriant or sedating, intoxicating hallucinogenic drug prepared from various parts of this plant.
- 3
The purified and decarboxylated resin of the cannabis plant used for medicinal purposes rather than for any intoxicating effects.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
How do you abbreviate cannabis?
Wiktionary records one abbreviation of cannabis: canna.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Cannabis in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense plant:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | cannabis |
| German | Cannabis, Hanf |
| Portuguese | cânabis, pé-de-maconha, canábis |
| Spanish | cannabis, cánnabis, cáñamo índico, cáñamo indio |
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 cannabis come from?
Learned borrowing from Latin cannabis (“hemp”), borrowed from Ancient Greek κάνναβις (kánnabis). See there for more. Further reading at Etymology of cannabis on Wikipedia. Doublet of canvas and hemp.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).