chortle
/ˈt͡ʃɔɹtəl/noun, verb
chortle is spelled C-H-O-R-T-L-E: 7 letters and 2 syllables. It appears about once in every 8 million words in written English, the 83,271st most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, chortle means “A joyful, somewhat muffled laugh, rather like a snorting chuckle” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of chortle is chortles.
How many letters and syllables are in chortle?
| Letters | 7: C-H-O-R-T-L-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 8 million words; the 83,271st 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 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 chortle?
Chortle appears about once in every 8 million words in written English, the 83,271st 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 chortle?
- US /ˈt͡ʃɔɹtəl/
- US [ˈt͡ʃɔɹɾɫ̩]
Chortle 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: En-us-chortle.ogg, En-au-chortle.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with chortle?
3 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as chortle from its last stressed vowel (/ɔɹtəl/):
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 chortle
- chortles plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- chortling participle, present
- chortled participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does chortle mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A joyful, somewhat muffled laugh, rather like a snorting chuckle.
He frequently interrupted himself with chortles while he told us his favorite joke.
- 2
A similar sounding vocalisation of various birds.
verb
- 1
To laugh with a chortle or chortles.
The old fellow chortled as he recalled his youthful adventures.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Chortle in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | gloussement , glousser |
| German | Glucksen , glucksen |
| Spanish | carcajada, risa resoplante , carcajear, reírse resoplando |
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 chortle come from?
Perhaps a blend of chuckle + snort. Coined by Lewis Carroll in his poem Jabberwocky, completed in 1855 but only introduced to the public in his 1871 novel Through the Looking-Glass.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).