ginger

/ˈd͡ʒɪnd͡ʒɚ/noun, adjective, verb, adverb

ginger is spelled G-I-N-G-E-R: 6 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 8.5 times per million words in written English, the 7,910th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data, counting Ginger, the name). As a noun, ginger means “The pungent aromatic rhizome of a tropical Asian herb, Zingiber officinale, used as a spice and as a stimulant and acarminative” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of ginger is gingers.

How many letters and syllables are in ginger?

Letters	6: G-I-N-G-E-R
Syllables	2 (from its American pronunciation)
In writing	8.5 times per million words; the 7,910th most frequent word form
Wrong spellings searched	none measured in search
Rhymes with	injure

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 ginger?

Ginger appears 8.5 times per million words in written English, the 7,910th most frequent word form in the list. The list counts every capitalisation together, so this includes Ginger, the name.

ginger0.0010.010.11101001,00010,000

rarerper million words of written Englishmore common

Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).

How do you pronounce ginger?

UK /ˈdʒɪndʒə/
US /ˈd͡ʒɪnd͡ʒɚ/

Ginger 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: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-ginger.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).

What rhymes with ginger?

One word on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as ginger from its last stressed vowel (/ɪndʒəɹ/):

injure

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 ginger

gingers plural, present, singular, he/she/it
more ginger comparative
gingerer comparative, rare
most ginger superlative
gingerest rare, superlative
gingering participle, present
gingered participle, past

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What does ginger mean?

The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).

noun

1
The pungent aromatic rhizome of a tropical Asian herb, Zingiber officinale, used as a spice and as a stimulant and acarminative.
2
The plant that produces this rhizome.
3
Other species belonging to the same family, Zingiberaceae, especially those of the genus Zingiber
4
A reddish-brown color.
5
colloquialderogatoryA person with reddish hair; a redhead.
6
colloquialVitality, vigour, liveliness (of character).
7
colloquialGinger ale, or can or bottle of such (especially if dry).
8
ScotlandcolloquialAny fizzy soft drink, or can or bottle of such; pop; soda.
9
UKslangA homosexual.

adjective

1
Of a reddish-brown color.
2
Having hair or fur of this color.
a ginger tomcat
3
CanadaUKUSVery careful or cautious; also, delicate, sensitive.
4
UKslangHomosexual.

verb

1
To add ginger to.
2
To enliven, to spice (up).
3
To apply ginger to the anus of a horse to encourage it to carry its tail high and move in a lively fashion.
4
To inspire (someone); to give a little boost to.
5
To move gingerly, in a very careful and cautious manner.

adverb

1
In a very careful or cautious manner; also, delicately, sensitively.