grainy
/ˈɡɹeɪni/adjective
grainy is spelled G-R-A-I-N-Y: 6 letters and 2 syllables. It appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 35,320th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, grainy means “Resembling grains; granular” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in grainy?
| Letters | 6: G-R-A-I-N-Y |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 1 million words; the 35,320th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
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).
How common is grainy?
Grainy appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 35,320th 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 grainy?
- /ˈɡɹeɪni/
Grainy 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-grainy.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of grainy
- grainier comparative
- grainiest superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does grainy mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Resembling grains; granular.
grainy image
- 2
Coarsely ground or gritty.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Grainy in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| German | körnig , grobkörnig |
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 grainy come from?
From Middle English greyny, equivalent to grain + -y. Piecewise doublet of corny.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).