congenital
/kənˈdʒɛnɪt(ə)l/adjective
congenital is spelled C-O-N-G-E-N-I-T-A-L: 10 letters and 4 syllables. It appears 1.9 times per million words in written English, the 19,825th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, congenital means “Of a trait or a disease, present since birth” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in congenital?
| Letters | 10: C-O-N-G-E-N-I-T-A-L |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 4 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 1.9 times per million words; the 19,825th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
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).
How common is congenital?
Congenital appears 1.9 times per million words in written English, the 19,825th 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 congenital?
- /kənˈdʒɛnɪt(ə)l/
Congenital has 4 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: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-congenital.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What does congenital mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Of a trait or a disease, present since birth.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Congenital in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense present since birth:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | congénital |
| German | angeboren, kongenital |
| Portuguese | congênito, congénito |
| Spanish | congénito |
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 congenital come from?
From Latin congenitus + -al, equivalent to con- + genital.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).