deli
/ˈdɛli/noun
deli is spelled D-E-L-I: 4 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 2.2 times per million words in written English, the 18,297th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, deli means “A shop that sells cooked or prepared food ready for serving” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of deli is delis.
How many letters and syllables are in deli?
| Letters | 4: D-E-L-I |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 2.2 times per million words; the 18,297th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Sounds like | |
| Same letters |
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); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is deli?
Deli appears 2.2 times per million words in written English, the 18,297th 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 deli?
- /ˈdɛli/
Deli has 2 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-us-deli.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with deli
Sounds like: Delhi (Wiktionary's homophone list; some hold only in some accents).
Sources: English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
What rhymes with deli?
No other word on PlainSpell ends in the same sounds as deli.
Spelled with the same letters in another order: lied, idle, diel.
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 deli
- delis plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does deli mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
informalA shop that sells cooked or prepared food ready for serving.
Delis usually offer a broader, fresher menu than fast food chains.
- 2
informalFood sold at a delicatessen.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Where does deli come from?
Attested since 1954. Clipping of delicatessen, from German Delikatessen, plural of Delikatesse (“delicacy, fine food”), from French délicatesse, derived from the adjective délicat, from Latin delicatus.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).