cherish
cher·ish/ˈt͡ʃɛɹɪʃ/verb
cherish is spelled C-H-E-R-I-S-H: 7 letters and 2 syllables (cher·ish). It appears 3.3 times per million words in written English, the 14,509th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data, counting Cherish, the name). As a verb, cherish means “To treat with affection, care, and tenderness; to nurture or protect with care” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in cherish?
| Letters | 7: C-H-E-R-I-S-H |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2: cher·ish |
| In writing | 3.3 times per million words; the 14,509th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
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); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is cherish?
Cherish appears 3.3 times per million words in written English, the 14,509th most frequent word form in the list. The list counts every capitalisation together, so this includes Cherish, 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 cherish?
- US /ˈt͡ʃɛɹɪʃ/
Cherish has 2 syllables, split cher·ish in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-cherish.ogg, En-au-cherish.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with cherish?
2 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as cherish from its last stressed vowel (/ɛɹɪʃ/):
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 cherish
- cherishes present, singular, he/she/it
- cherishing participle, present
- cherished participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does cherish mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
To treat with affection, care, and tenderness; to nurture or protect with care.
- 2
To have a deep appreciation of; to hold dear.
I cherish your friendship.
- 3
obsoleteTo cheer, to gladden.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Cherish in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | chérir, tenir (à) |
| German | hegen , wertschätzen |
| Portuguese | adorar, mimar, paparicar, cuidar , querer bem |
| Spanish | conservar, abrigar, acariciar, mantener |
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 cherish come from?
From Middle English charish, cherishen (“to have affection for, hold dear, treat kindly; to esteem, respect; to cherish; to take care of; to greet; to entertain, treat hospitably; to cheer; to encourage, incite”), from Old French cheriss-, chieriss-, extended stem of cherir, chierir (“to cherish”) (modern French chérir (“to cherish”)), from cher, chier (“dear, dearest”) (from Latin cārus (“beloved, dear”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *keh₂- (“to desire, wish”)) + -ir (suffix forming infinitives of second conjugation verbs).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).