congratulate
/kənˈɡɹæd͡ʒ.ʊˌleɪt/verb
congratulate is spelled C-O-N-G-R-A-T-U-L-A-T-E: 12 letters and 4 syllables. It appears 3.9 times per million words in written English, the 13,127th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, congratulate means “To express one’s sympathetic pleasure or joy to the person(s) it is felt for” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in congratulate?
| Letters | 12: C-O-N-G-R-A-T-U-L-A-T-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 4 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 3.9 times per million words; the 13,127th 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 congratulate?
Congratulate appears 3.9 times per million words in written English, the 13,127th 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 congratulate?
- /kənˈɡɹæt͡ʃ.ʊˌleɪt/
- /-t͡ʃ.ə-/
- US /kənˈɡɹæd͡ʒ.ʊˌleɪt/
Congratulate 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: En-uk-congratulate.ogg, En-us-congratulate.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of congratulate
- congratulates present, singular, he/she/it
- congratulating participle, present
- congratulated participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does congratulate mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
To express one’s sympathetic pleasure or joy to the person(s) it is felt for
Remind me to congratulate Dave and Lisa on their wedding.
- 2
To consider oneself fortunate in some matter.
I congratulated myself on the success of my plan.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
How do you abbreviate congratulate?
Wiktionary records one abbreviation of congratulate: congrat.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Congratulate in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense to express one’s sympathetic pleasure or joy to the person(s) it is felt for:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | féliciter |
| German | gratulieren, beglückwünschen |
| Portuguese | parabenizar, congratular |
| Spanish | felicitar, congratular |
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 congratulate come from?
First attested in 1548; borrowed from Latin congrātulātus, the perfect active participle of Latin congrātulor (“to wish joy, rejoice (with); to congratulate”) (see -ate (verb-forming suffix)), from con- + grātulor, from grātus (“grateful, pleasing, agreeable, beloved”) + -or. By surface analysis, con- + gratulate.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).