cheerful
cheer·ful/ˈt͡ʃɪɹfl̩/adjective
cheerful is spelled C-H-E-E-R-F-U-L: 8 letters and 2 syllables (cheer·ful). It appears 4.0 times per million words in written English, the 12,940th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, cheerful means “Noticeably happy and optimistic” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in cheerful?
| Letters | 8: C-H-E-E-R-F-U-L |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2: cheer·ful |
| In writing | 4.0 times per million words; the 12,940th 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 cheerful?
Cheerful appears 4.0 times per million words in written English, the 12,940th 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 cheerful?
- UK /ˈt͡ʃɪəfl̩/
- US /ˈt͡ʃɪɹfl̩/
- /ˈt͡ʃɜː(ɹ)fəl/
Cheerful has 2 syllables, split cheer·ful in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-cheerful.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of cheerful
- more cheerful comparative
- cheerfuler comparative
- cheerfuller comparative
- most cheerful superlative
- cheerfulest superlative
- cheerfullest superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does cheerful mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Noticeably happy and optimistic.
- 2
Bright and pleasant.
They enjoyed a cheerful room.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Cheerful in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | joyeux, content, de bonne humeur |
| German | fröhlich, vergnügt , freundlich |
| Portuguese | alegre , animado |
| Spanish | animado, alegre, risueño |
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 cheerful come from?
From Middle English chereful, cherful, equivalent to cheer + -ful.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).