congee
/ˈkɑnd͡ʒi/noun
congee is spelled C-O-N-G-E-E: 6 letters. It appears about once in every 9 million words in written English, the 90,432nd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, congee means “Leave, formal permission for some action, (originally and particularly)” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of congee is congees.
How many letters and syllables are in congee?
| Letters | 6: C-O-N-G-E-E |
|---|---|
| In writing | about once in every 9 million words; the 90,432nd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Pairs people 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); Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is congee?
Congee appears about once in every 9 million words in written English, the 90,432nd 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 congee?
- US /ˈkɑnd͡ʒi/
- UK /ˈkɒndʒi/
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-congee.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with congee
Word pairs people search, with the monthly searches for “a vs b” (G: Google, B: Bing, United States).
Sources: Google and Bing searches (September 2025 to August 2026, through DataForSEO); English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
What rhymes with congee?
3 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as congee from its last stressed vowel (/ɑndʒi/):
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 congee
- congees plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- conge
- congé
- congeeing participle, present
- congeed participle, past
- conjee
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does congee mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
Leave, formal permission for some action, (originally and particularly)
- 2
obsoleteFormal permission to leave; a passport.
- 3
obsoleteFormal dismissal; (figurative) any dismissal; (originally & particularly humorously ironic) abrupt dismissal without ceremony.
- 4
obsoleteFormal leavetaking; (figurative) any farewell.
- 5
ScotlandobsoleteA fee paid to make another go away, (particularly) alms to a persistent beggar.
- 6
archaicA bow, curtsey, or other gesture (originally) made at departure but (later) including at greeting or in obeissance or respect.
- 7
A type of thick rice porridge or soup, sometimes prepared with vegetables and/or meat.
verb
- 1
archaicobsoleteTo give formal permission to leave; to dismiss.
- 2
archaicobsoleteTo give formal permission to do something; to license.
- 3
archaicTo take congee: to leave ceremoniously.
- 4
archaicTo make a congee: to bow, curtsey, etc., (particularly dialectal) while leaving; (figuratively) to make obeissance, show respect, or defer to someone or something.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Congee in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense a type of rice porridge:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | congee |
| German | Reis-Congee, Congee |
| Portuguese | canja |
| Spanish | arroz caldo |
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 congee come from?
From late Middle English congie, from Old French congié, congiet (modern French congé), from Latin commeātus (“passage, permission to leave”), from commeō (“to go and come”), from con- + meō (“to go, to pass”). Figurative senses generally borrowed from developments in French congé.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).