colloquial
col·lo·qui·al/kəˈloʊ.kwi.əl/adjective, noun
colloquial is spelled C-O-L-L-O-Q-U-I-A-L: 10 letters and 4 syllables (col·lo·qui·al). It appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 31,549th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, colloquial means “Characteristic of familiar conversation, of common parlance; informal” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in colloquial?
| Letters | 10: C-O-L-L-O-Q-U-I-A-L |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 4: col·lo·qui·al |
| In writing | about once in every 1 million words; the 31,549th 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 colloquial?
Colloquial appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 31,549th 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 colloquial?
- UK /kəˈləʊ.kwɪəl/
- US /kəˈloʊ.kwi.əl/
Colloquial has 4 syllables, split col·lo·qui·al in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-ca-colloquial.oga, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of colloquial
- most colloquial superlative
- colloquials plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does colloquial mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
colloquialCharacteristic of familiar conversation, of common parlance; informal.
You're using too many colloquial words in this cover letter: I suggest changing "I picked up loads of cool skills" to "I acquired many positive abilities"
- 2
colloquialOf or pertaining to a conversation; conversational or chatty.
noun
- 1
A colloquial word or phrase, colloquialism.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
How do you abbreviate colloquial?
Wiktionary records 2 abbreviations of colloquial: coll., colloq..
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Colloquial in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense of oral communication language:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | familier, parlé |
| German | umgangssprachlich, Umgangs- |
| Portuguese | coloquial |
| Spanish | coloquial, familiar |
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.