dinkum
/ˈdɪŋkəm/adjective, noun
dinkum is spelled D-I-N-K-U-M: 6 letters. It appears about once in every 12 million words in written English, the 102,771st most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, dinkum means “Genuine, true, honest, on the level” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in dinkum?
| Letters | 6: D-I-N-K-U-M |
|---|---|
| In writing | about once in every 12 million words; the 102,771st 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 dinkum?
Dinkum appears about once in every 12 million words in written English, the 102,771st 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 dinkum?
- /ˈdɪŋkəm/
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: EN-AU_ck1_dinkum.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of dinkum
- more dinkum comparative
- most dinkum superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does dinkum mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
AustraliaslangGenuine, true, honest, on the level.
noun
- 1
AustraliaobsoleterareslangHard work.
- 2
AustraliadatedslangTruth.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Where does dinkum come from?
Unknown. Earliest recorded use in the phrase fair dinkum in 1879, from Australia. Also recorded (slightly later) from Derbyshire and Lincolnshire dialect. Perhaps related to Gloucestershire dialect ding (“to work hard”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).