fa
/fɑ/noun, preposition
fa is spelled F-A: 2 letters. It appears 16 times per million words in written English, the 5,121st most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, fa means “A syllable used in solfège to represent the fourth diatonic (or sixth chromatic) note of a major scale” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of fa is fas.
How many letters and syllables are in fa?
| Letters | 2: F-A |
|---|---|
| In writing | 16 times per million words; the 5,121st 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 fa?
Fa appears 16 times per million words in written English, the 5,121st 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 fa?
- /fɑ/
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-fa.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with fa
Sources: English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
Forms of fa
- fas plural
- fah
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does fa mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A syllable used in solfège to represent the fourth diatonic (or sixth chromatic) note of a major scale.
- 2
Sometimes syllable for both the tonic and the fourth.
pronoun
- 1
vulgarInitialism of fuck all.
- 2
Initialism of Fanny Adams.
noun
- 1
Initialism of Fanconi anemia.
- 2
Initialism of featured article.
- 3
Initialism of felonious assault.
- 4
Initialism of flight attendant.
- 5
Initialism of fee agreement.
- 6
Initialism of fat admirer.
- 7
Initialism of financial aid.
- 8
Initialism of free agent.
preposition
- 1
informalAlternative spelling of for.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Fa in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense fourth note of a major scale:
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 fa come from?
From Glover's solmization, from Middle English fa (“fourth degree or note of Guido of Arezzo's hexachordal scales”), Italian fa in the solmization of Guido of Arezzo, from the first syllable of Latin famulī (“servants”) in the lyrics of the scale-ascending hymn Ut queant laxis by Paulus Deacon.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).