cousin
cou·sin/ˈkʌz(ə)n/noun, verb
cousin is spelled C-O-U-S-I-N: 6 letters and 2 syllables (cou·sin). It appears 26 times per million words in written English, the 3,558th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, cousin means “Chiefly with a qualifying word: Any relation (especially a distant one) who is not a direct ancestor or descendant but part of a person's extended…” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of cousin is cousins.
How many letters and syllables are in cousin?
| Letters | 6: C-O-U-S-I-N |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2: cou·sin |
| In writing | 26 times per million words; the 3,558th 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 cousin?
Cousin appears 26 times per million words in written English, the 3,558th 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 cousin?
- UK /ˈkʌzn̩/
- US /ˈkʌz(ə)n/
- US /ˈkʌzɪn/
Cousin has 2 syllables, split cou·sin in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-cousin.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with cousin
Also written: cos.
Sources: English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
Forms of cousin
- cousins plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- cousining participle, present
- cousined participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does cousin mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
Chiefly with a qualifying word: Any relation (especially a distant one) who is not a direct ancestor or descendant but part of a person's extended family; a kinsman or kinswoman.
- 2
Preceded by an ordinal number, as first, second, third, etc.: a person descended from a common ancestor by the same number of generations as another person.
- 3
When used without a qualifying word: the child of a person's parent's brother (that is, an uncle) or sister (an aunt); a cousin-german, a first cousin.
Although we were cousins, we grew up like sisters.
- 4
A person of an ethnicity or nationality regarded as closely related to someone of another ethnicity or nationality.
- 5
Used as a term of address for someone whom one is close to; also, (preceding a first name, sometimes capitalized as Cousin) a title for such a person.
- 6
Used by a monarch to address another monarch, or a noble; specifically (UK) in commissions and writs by the Crown: used in this way to address a viscount or another peer of higher rank.
- 7
Something kindred or related to something else; a relative.
- 8
obsoleteA female sexual partner who is not a person's wife; specifically, a prostitute.
verb
- 1
rareTo address (someone) as "cousin".
- 2
rareTo regard (oneself or someone) as a cousin to another person.
- 3
USinformalTo associate with someone or something on a close basis.
- 4
USinformalTo visit a cousin or other relation.
noun
- 1
slangA fan of the character Lucien LaCroix from the Canadian television series Forever Knight.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Cousin in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| German | entfernter Verwandter, entfernte Verwandte , Cousin, Vetter, Cousine, Kusine |
| French | cousin, cousine |
| Portuguese | primo, prima |
| Spanish | primo, prima, cousin |
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.