canto
/ˈkæntoʊ/noun
canto is spelled C-A-N-T-O: 5 letters and 2 syllables. It appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 36,565th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, canto means “One of the chief divisions of a long poem; a book” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of canto is cantos.
How many letters and syllables are in canto?
| Letters | 5: C-A-N-T-O |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 2 million words; the 36,565th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with | |
| 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 canto?
Canto appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 36,565th 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 canto?
- UK /ˈkæntəʊ/
- US /ˈkæntoʊ/
Canto 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: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-canto.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with canto?
One word on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as canto from its last stressed vowel (/æntoʊ/):
Spelled with the same letters in another order: acton.
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 canto
- cantos plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does canto mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
One of the chief divisions of a long poem; a book.
- 2
The treble or leading melody.
- 3
The designated division of a song.
noun
- 1
informalThe Cantonese language.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Canto in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense one of the chief divisions of a long poem:
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 canto come from?
From Italian canto (“song”). Doublet of chant.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).