cherub
che·rub/ˈt͡ʃɛ.ɹəb/noun
cherub is spelled C-H-E-R-U-B: 6 letters and 2 syllables (che·rub). It appears about once in every 3 million words in written English, the 47,633rd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, cherub means “A winged creature attending God and guarding his throne described as a being with four faces (man, lion, ox, and eagle), human hands, calf hooves…” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of cherub is cherubs or cherubim; Wiktionary also lists cherubin (obsolete).
How many letters and syllables are in cherub?
| Letters | 6: C-H-E-R-U-B |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2: che·rub |
| In writing | about once in every 3 million words; the 47,633rd 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 cherub?
Cherub appears about once in every 3 million words in written English, the 47,633rd 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 cherub?
- US /ˈt͡ʃɛ.ɹəb/
Cherub has 2 syllables, split che·rub in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-uk-cherub.oga, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of cherub
- cherubs plural
- cherubim plural
- cherubims plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does cherub mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A winged creature attending God and guarding his throne described as a being with four faces (man, lion, ox, and eagle), human hands, calf hooves, four wings, and many eyes. A description can be found in Ezekiel chapter 1 and Ezekiel chapter 10; similar to a lamassu (winged bull with a human torso) in the pre-exilic texts of the Hebrew Bible, more humanoid in later texts.
- 2
A winged angel, described by Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite (c. 5th–6th century) as the second highest order of angels, ranked above thrones and below seraphim.
- 3
In later texts changed to a winged baby; in artistic depictions sometimes a baby's head with wings but no body.
- 4
A person, especially a child, seen as being particularly angelic or innocent.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Cherub in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | chérubin |
| German | Cherub, Kerub |
| Portuguese | querubim , anjo, anjinho |
| Spanish | querubín, querube, querub |
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 cherub come from?
From Middle English cherub, cherube, cherubin, cherubine, cherubym, cherubyn, cherybin, gerubin, jerubin (“angel of the second highest order; depiction of such an angel”), from Old English cerubin, cerubim, ceruphin, cherubin, from Latin cherūbīm, cherūbīn, from Ancient Greek χερουβῑ́μ (kheroubī́m), χερουβείν (kheroubeín), χερουβίμ (kheroubím), from Hebrew כְּרוּבִים (k'ruvím);. Because it was not always clear from Bible passages whether a single being or group of beings was being referred to, cherubin was used both as a singular word (plural cherubins) and plural word up to the 18th century.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).